Police seize car used by Naeema’s alleged killers

Police have seized a car used by the two suspects arrested in the murder of a middle-aged woman, found killed in her home in N. Manadhoo last April.

Naeema Moosa, 62, Annaarumaage, N. Manadhoo, was found stabbed to death in her bedroom at around 06:30 pm April 7.

A major break in the case didn’t come until over a month later.

On Friday, Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed announced the police have made two arrests in the case, and have recovered two weapons used in the murder, along with the clothes the killers were wearing.

A resident told Sun on Saturday that the police have also seized a car used by the suspects as evidence.

The two suspects arrested in the case are both young men from Manadhoo. Locals report they are known drug addicts.

One of the suspects, Ahzam Abdul Shakoor, 23, Fehivillage, N. Manadhoo, had confessed to the crime during interrogation. He had previously resided in Male’ before relocating back to Manadhoo. He has reportedly been a member of a criminal gang during his time in the capital.

Ahzam was arrested for possession of drugs based on a tip.

The police confirmed him as a suspect in Naeema’s murder for the first time during his remand hearing at Manadhoo Court on Friday.

At the court, police said Ahzam was considered a dangerous criminal as he was also a murder suspect, and therefore needed to be detained.

The magistrate asked Ahzam if it was true, and he confirmed it.

The court remanded him in custody of the police for 14 days.

Court documents show he is currently detained based on the 50.1 grams of drugs found from his room. The police have now obtained a second arrest warrant for him for Naeema’s murder.

The police had found the weapons used in the murder and the clothes the killers were wearing based on Azham’s confession. Officers found the burnt pieces of clothing buried in a ditch.

Ahzam’s statement at court revealed the police arrested the second suspect, a 20-year-old man, on Friday night.

Locals report he was a known associate of Ahzam’s, and a fellow drug addict.

They were made to re-enact how they used the car they drove in Manadhoo.

Ahzam had spoken in defense of the drug charge against him at court on Friday. He claimed the drugs weren’t him, and said that the room where the police found the drugs was often broken into by thieves. He also said that other people also had access to the room.

However, the court decided to remand him in custody of the police for two weeks based on the nature of the crime and room for witness intimidation.

The police told the court that Ahzam had a prior criminal court, and that the people willing to testify against him included his parents and siblings.

The police were reportedly tipped off to the drugs in his room by a member of his family.

A street sweeper employed by the local council, Naeema had lived alone. She was report missing by her family at around 06:13 pm on April 7. She was last seen on April 5.

The police had to break open her bedroom door, and found her lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood.