Police retain four suspects in custody as “Facebook blackmail” investigation continues
02 Apr 2011, 4:50 PM
Neil Merrett
Police are monitoring four individuals suspected of involvement in the alleged blackmail of several political figures though graphic images obtained via social network site Facebook, as they press ahead with the case.
The Maldives Police Service today confirmed that out of the remaining seven suspects held for questioning over the investigation, three had now been released, while another three had been put under house arrest, leaving one individual in police custody.
The case first came to light in February, when police revealed that 14 individuals including a minor had been arrested on suspicion of obtaining hundreds of nude pictures and videos that were stored on computers and external hard drives. It was alleged that these images had been obtained through fake Facebook profiles that used the identical image of a young woman.
Police said at the time that two profiles with the names of ‘Lyshiaa Limanom’ and ‘Angelic Sharrown’ respectively were used by the suspects to gather files of individuals pictured in some cases performing explicit acts in the presence of minors. Investigators stated that they would also be investigating people pictured in the files for committing crimes.
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