Trio arrested in violent robbery after luring victim to Male’ house claim stolen item was a ‘gift’

Three men have been arrested from Male’ on allegations of beating up and robbing a person after luring him to a house under false pretenses.

The three people arrested in the case are:

• Aus Ali Hilmy, 30, S. Hithadhoo
• Mohamed Nishan Jaleel, 33, K. Male’
• Faris Ali Shareef, 35, Sh. Lhaimagu

They are being held on suspicion of assault, unlawful confinement of a person and robbery.

All three were presented at Criminal Court on Friday for their remand hearings.

The evidence submitted against them includes the victim’s statement, photo report documenting his injuries, CCTV footage and eye witness testimony.

The investigative officer told the court that all three suspects had lured the victim to a house under false pretenses, threatened and physically assaulted him, and robbed him of money and other items, including his phone and wristwatch.

The phone and wristwatch were later recovered from a room where all three were staying, said the officer.

All three requested the opportunity to hire a lawyer.

Meanwhile, one of the suspects, Aus, told the court that he did not force the victim to the house, but that he went there of his own free will. He also claimed the wristwatch wasn’t stolen, but was gifted to him by the victim.

The other two suspects denied any involvement. Faris claimed he wasn’t aware of the robbery, while Nishan claimed he was asleep when the other two returned to the room. He said that he wasn’t involved, and that the crime was committed by his friends.

The Criminal Court found the evidence sufficient to warrant the suspicion against them, and ordered for all three to be held at a custodial jail for 15 days.

Their detention expires on November 28.

The police have received over 3,000 reports of thefts and robberies so far this year, some of them involving cases where victims are lured to places under false pretenses.