Popular sports host Nafiu Rasheed, widely known as Naappe for his role in hosting the annual Baibalaa tournament, has been remanded in custody for five additional days following his arrest on suspicion of child exploitation.
Naappe was arrested on Monday along with three others during a police raid on an apartment in the Henveiru district of Male’ City. The suspects are:
Nafiu Rasheed, 39, Silver Star, V. Rakeedhoo  
Ali Ashraf, 35, M. Ethumaa, K. Male’  
Luhan Saeed, 41, Paris, GDh. Vaadhoo  
Ibrahim Shinan Ahmed, 33, H. Finikuri, K. Male’
Shinan is a former state attorney who previously worked at the Attorney General’s Office. He is believed to have left the office in 2023.
All four suspects were initially remanded for three days. After the remand expired, they were produced before the Criminal Court on Thursday. According to a police spokesperson quoted by Sun, Naappe was remanded for five more days, while the remaining three suspects were remanded for 10 additional days.
Police said the arrests were made during a search operation in which a rubber packet containing suspected narcotics was recovered. Preliminary urine tests for all four suspects returned positive results for drugs.
The suspects are being investigated for child exploitation, though police have not disclosed the nature of the alleged abuse or whether the victims were present at the scene. The victims identified in the case include two girls aged 17, and two boys aged 16 and 17, according to police.
The case remains under investigation.