Police have arrested three men in Malé on suspicion of attempting to steal a motorcycle after removing its original number plate and replacing it with another.
The suspects are two 45-year-old men and a 39-year-old man, all Maldivian nationals.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 3:55 a.m. on Thursday, when officers patrolling Malé noticed three men acting suspiciously near a motorcycle in a narrow alley off Carnation Magu.
When officers approached the area, one of the men was attempting to ride the motorcycle out onto Carnation Magu. He told police that the motorcycle belonged to his brother-in-law.
Although the information on the number plate matched the details provided by the man, officers became suspicious that the motorcycle had been stolen and checked its engine number. After finding that the engine number did not match, police contacted the Command Centre and confirmed that the motorcycle’s original registration number was different from the one displayed on the plate.
A further inspection of the area where the motorcycle had been parked led officers to discover its original number plate hidden inside a drain.
All three men were taken into police custody in connection with the case. Police also confiscated the motorcycle, a tool believed to have been used to break its lock, and the recovered original number plate as evidence for the investigation.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
