Three people have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Minivan New journalist Ahmed Rilwan.
Rilwan was abducted in August 2014 outside his apartment in reclaimed suburb, Hulhumale'. He was forced into a red car at knifepoint and driven off and have not been heard from since.
Almost eight years after Rilwan's abduction, the police on Sunday arrested three individuals in connection to the case. They are Ismail 'Isu' Abdul Raheem Adam (30) from M. Lagoon View, Ahmed 'Ahandhu' Ismail (39) from Ma. Faagafilaage, and Ahmed Muaz (40) of Dhaftharu. All three were arrested on charges of involvement in Rilwan's murder.
Rumors of their pending arrest have been circulating since Saturday. Although Isu appeared at the police headquarters early Saturday night on his own accord, the police did not arrest him at the time. He was arrested on Saturday morning while he was at a cafe' in the Henveiru Carnival.
The Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances had earlier said that Rilwan was killed and drowned by local members belonging to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Isu allegedly stalked Rilwan a few days before his disappearance. They did so after declaring Rilwan an apostate, the commission said.
Ahandhu has a criminal record of facilitating travel to join the Syrian war. He also has assault and drug-related records.
Arrested suspect Isu attempted to cross over to Syria via the Turkish border in 2015. However, he was arrested near the border. He had previously been arrested on terrorism charges.
