Police: Gang crimes significantly reduced with new Anti-Gang Act

Maldives Police Service, on Tuesday, said gang activities and crimes across Male’ and islands have significantly reduced since the new legislation – Prevention of Gang and Other Serious Offences Act – came into force in August.

The Police held a press conference at Iskandar Koshi on Tuesday morning.

Speaking at the press conference, Head of Gang Crimes Enforcement, Superintendent of Police Ishaq Adam said gang crimes have been significantly reduced.

He detailed that the police are actively conducting raids on areas with criminal activity, monitoring individuals’ actions at these locations, and dispersing people from these areas. Ishaq added that the Police are also undertaking efforts to search “safehouses” discovered via intelligence under court orders.

According to Ishaq, the police have noted a significant presence of children in locations with gang activity that have not yet been raided, where they continue to spend long hours with individuals who have criminal records.

“We have observed children spend long hours with such individuals during midnight hours and even daytime,” he said.

“In such cases, our protocol is to remove children from such places to ensure their safety and security. Children found in such locations in Malé are taken to the Family and Child Protection Department, while those in Hulhumalé are brought to the Hulhumalé Police Station. There, their parents’ information are collected and contacted. The children are returned to the parents after briefing them of the situation,” he added.

He therefore urged parents to check on who their children are spending time with at night and what activities they are involved in, warning that failure to do so could lead to tragic outcomes.

The Police’s remarks regarding reduced gang crimes comes following President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s remarks during a rally held to celebrate his administration’s two-year anniversary on November 17^th claiming gangsters have left lives of crime behind, and that there were few gangs that meet the legal criteria for criminal organizations.

The Prevention of Gang and Other Serious Offences Act was passed by Parliament on May 15 and ratified by the President on May 25. It arms law enforcement agencies with greater powers to curb gang activity, including the power to enter and search private properties and make arrests without a court warrant, and hold arrestees for up to 48 hours while denying for legal representation.

Authorities will also have the power to deny parole to offenders of major crimes, and the legislature also prescribes lengthy prison sentences exceeding 10 years and huge fines for various offenses.

Other key provisions include:

• Judicial identification of gangs and affiliated individuals
• Confiscation of illicit wealth and assets linked to gang activity, serious crime, or illicit enrichment through judicial processes
• Criminalization of financial support to gangs
• Use of controlled deliveries and covert operations to disrupt gang networks
• Preventive measures to protect juveniles from recruitment into gangs
• Monitoring of high-risk individuals, including electronic tagging under the MoniCon Order
• Establishment of a structured system for offender supervision and rehabilitation

According to police statistics released on Tuesday, since the Act came into effect, six locations have been raided, 11 suspects have been arrested in seven cases, charges have been sought against two individuals, and one group has been referred to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) for gang classification.

Ishaq added that the police are still collecting information for classification of a group as a gang at PGO’s instructions.