Police on Sunday arrested several suspects in connection to the brutal stabbing murder of Mohamed Anas inside a local motorbike service centre in the capital Male.
Police had raided a house in the capital Male, taking a dozen people into custody which police said included the suspects behind Anas' murder.
The details of the suspects are yet to be released but police confirmed that several minors were among the people arrested.
The 24-year-old Anas was stabbed inside Litus Service Centre on August 31. He was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken to the privately-run ADK hospital in the capital Male.
The victim's family and friends have insisted that Anas had no affiliations to any local gangs leading to believe that it was mistaken identity.
"People are saying that the attack was gang related and Anas was wearing a similar t-shirt to the one the intended target was wearing. So it seems they [suspects] mistook him [Anas] for someone else," a family member had told Avas.
Police had earlier Sunday arrested six more suspects in connection to the recent gang violence in the capital Male.
Police last week had announced the search for over 30 suspects over the spate of gang violence.
In the past week, five people had been stabbed with two fatalities as public lambasted the police and the home minister for its inability to curb the violence.
Fear has spread across the capital city as gang violence spate continues. After a period of relative calm, Maldives has seen two deaths, with total of nine stabbings and three assaults in gang violence over the past month.
Police have increased patrols around the city in the wake of recent spikes in gang violence and organised crime.
