Second suspect arrested in MVR 5 million snatch theft attempt

The police have arrested a second suspect in connection to an attempt to steal MVR 5 million in cash transported for deposit to Bank of Ceylon (BOC) in Male’.

The second suspect, identified as a 21-year-old Maldivian male, was arrested under court order this Wednesday.

It follows the arrest of the first suspect, a 20-year-old Maldivian male, on Tuesday night.

The robbery attempt had taken place at approximately 11:40 am on Sunday, and had been foiled with the quick intervention of a BOC security guard and the staffers who were transporting the money.

Police have disclosed little information pertaining to the case.

Sun has been informed the money belongs to Root, a large-scale distributor of tobacco products, and amounts to approximately MVR 5 million.

The robbery attempt was caught on CCTV camera.

The money, packed in a cardboard box, was transported to the bank on a van. CCTV footage shows four men wearing long-sleeved black shirts and jeans, as well as masks and helmets, close in on the as it parks in front of the bank, before attacking staffers from Root and attempting to snatch the cardboard box.

The robbers took the cardboard box containing the money after dragging a female staffer out of the van. As the robbers attempt to flee with the box, a security guard rushes out of the bank and confiscates the box from them, and a staffer from Root wearing a company t-shirt attempts to secure the box.

Meanwhile, a foreign worker who drives by the road on a motorcycle witnesses the situation and chases after the robbers.

The case is under further investigation by the police.