Youth remanded for conspiracy to commit murder

A local youth has been remanded for 15 days, ordered by the Criminal Court on Tuesday, for conspiracy to commit murder and for associating with a criminal gang.

The youth, identified as Abdulla Udhayyu, 21, G. Reethimaage Aage, Male’ City, is charged with the conspiracy and attempt to commit grievous bodily harm and for associating with a criminal group.

The court order read that the serial altercations were between two rival gangs. Udhayyu has been identified as belonging to one of these gangs that have been plotting to commit assault on the other group.

Maldives Police Service claimed Udhayyu had been physically involved in locating the whereabouts of the rival gang’s members.

In his defence, Udhayyu claimed his only crime was to sleep at a venue shown to him by ‘them’, and later provided the name of one of his brothers when the court questioned him about who ‘they’ were. Police said the venue where Udhayyu claimed he slept had been used as a ‘safe house’ by the gang to hide their weapons and to plot criminal activities.

Police also said that they had seen Udhayyu hanging around the gang previously, while he was among the 21 arrests made last year.

Gang-related violence has been on the rise, with three individuals arrested by local authorities this Sunday which included a 17-year-old minor. Other suspects in the crime were aged 18 and 23.

In an unrelated incident two more were arrested for assaulting someone with an axe at Hulhumale’. While one of these suspects was remanded for three days, the other has been remanded until investigation concludes. Police arrested suspects aged 19 and 25 in the incident.

With violent crimes on the rise, police reports the number of youths and minors involved in such crimes have been increasing.