Male’, Maldives – Fariva Stay employees have told that individuals claiming to be police intelligence investigating a fake currency business had cuffed and stolen money and multiple valuables from them.
Police had said that thieves disguised as police intelligence entered Fariva Stay early yesterday morning and looted the place but they did not reveal any other details on the case.
Two of the foreigners who work at Fariva Stay told that two separate rooms were robbed in an interview to local news outlet “Mihaaru”. MVR 20,000, a phone and a laptop were stolen from one room and from the other room gold worth almost MVR 100,000, two smartphones and four old Nokias were stolen.
They employees said that the thieves arrived at the guesthouse at 5:45 in the morning and told the security guard they were police and asked for the receptionist. The receptionist, who was asleep at the time, was awoken by loud knocking on their room, as security had escorted the thieves to the room.
The three impostors were described to be wearing black T-shirts, black trousers and black masks with a “PUMA” logo with one wearing a face shield.
The receptionist claimed that when asked about their identity, they said they were police intelligence investigating a fake currency business and momentarily flashed a badge. They entered the room and began asking various work permit and visa related questions implying an investigation for illegal immigration. The worker was handcuffed after they found around MVR 19,500 in the closet.
They then asked the worker about other employees, which led to another worker in the next room to be handcuffed and the room to be looted of multiple phones and gold worth almost MVR 100,000, which was to be a wedding gift, the worker said.
The looters escaped after saying they were going to conduct searches on other rooms. After they left, the security guard came back to untie the workers, who then called police. The guesthouses CCTV footage was provided to the police for the investigation but the police have not provided any new information on the case until now.
The Bangladeshi receptionist, who has been working in the Maldives for 5 years, said that they have never been in an encounter with Maldivian police before, and that the intruders’ communication and mannerism contributed for them to be mistaken as actual law enforcement.
