Henbadhoo men arrested for torching police officer’s motorbike

Two people were arrested on Sunday for torching a motorcycle owned by a police officer in Henbadhoo amid a special counter-drugs operation in the Noonu Atoll.

The motorcycle was torched in the early hours of Friday. Hours earlier, a motorcycle belonging to another officer was vandalized.

A police spokesperson said that two Maldivian males aged 33 were arrested under court order on Sunday in connection to the case.

They were identified as:

• Mohamed Irshad, 33, Hudhuthari, N. Henbadhoo
• Ilyas Ibrahim, 33, Selviyo, N. Henbadhoo

According to the spokesperson, the incidents had followed threats to harm the police officers stationed at the Henbadhoo Police Post as well as their family members, and damage their property.

The chief police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ahmed Shifan linked the case with a police crackdown on drug trafficking in the Noonu Atoll.

In a post on X on Friday, Shifan said the police believe the violence was instigated by suspects targeted in the counter-drug operation.

“I remind the people with such a mindset that such cowardly acts will not affect the courage and resolve of the police,” he added.