Police arrested a 30-year-old Maldivian man on Monday night (October 20) after he offered to return a stolen phone in exchange for either sex or MVR1,000 (US$65).
The suspect allegedly snatched the phone from a woman while she was walking on a street in Malé and the theft was reported to police around 8:30pm.
The thief made the offer to return the phone when the owner called the number.
Police revealed that the suspect has a criminal record for drug abuse, theft and assault. He had been previously been arrested 24 times while 11 cases had been forwarded for criminal prosecution, police said.
