Two arrested for trashing Male’ cafe, threatening staff with weapons

Two men have been detained for barging into a coffeeshop located in the Maafannu district of Male’ and threatening the staff with sharp-edged weapons.

The incident took place at the Lets Coffee Maldives, a café located on the ground floor of M. Boaddu in Haveeree Hingun, at around 12:40 pm on Thursday, December 12.

The police announced on Wednesday that they arrested two people in connection to the case. They are:

• Asadulla Khatim, 44, Meezan, B. Thulhaadhoo
• Ahmed Thaufeeq, 31, Violetmaage, GA. Dhevvadhoo

According to the police, the two suspects were arrested under court warrants on Monday.

They were presented before the Criminal Court for their remand hearing on Tuesday. Both Asadulla Khatim and Ahmed Thaufeeq were remanded in custody of the police for five days.

The duo had reportedly threatened waitresses at the café and vandalized the property.

However, the exact cause of the incident is unclear.

A video taken from a mobile phone shows a person who appears to be Ahmed Thaufeeq taking down decorations and damaging property inside the café, while a second person who appears to be Asadulla Khatim threatens the person who was videoing the incident, as a female staff member pleads with them to stop.

The case is under further investigation by the police.