Author: Minivan News

Man sentenced to life in prison over 1kg cannabis

The criminal court has sentenced a 46-year-old man to life in jail and handed a MVR100,000 fine over one kilogram of cannabis.

Ali Imran, of Coconut House in Malé, was caught with 1131.2 grams of cannabis in November 2012.

Police apprehended Imran at Malé’s commercial harbour for suspicious behaviour and found the drugs hidden under the seat of his motorcycle. At the time, police had received information a cargo boat traveling from India was carrying illicit drugs.

When Imran’s house was searched, police found MVR134,050, US$2200 and 21 diamond stones and four precious stones inside a safe. He had another MVR461,948.26 in an HSBC account.

The criminal court has ordered the state to confiscate the money and the precious stones, stating Imran had not explained how he had obtained the money.

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Police seize drugs in Hulhumalé guesthouse

The police have seized illicit narcotics from a guesthouse in Hulhumalé and arrested four Maldivian men on suspicion of selling drugs.

Based on intelligence information, the police drug enforcement department raided the guesthouse room around 4:00pm yesterday with a search warrant and found a large rubber packet containing drugs, two empty liquor bottles, bullet-sized rubber packets, and a small measuring device.

The four men, aged 21, 25, 34, and 37, all have criminal records for drug-related offences, the police said.

 

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Economic development ministry creates ‘enterprise development’ unit

The ministry of economic development has created an “enterprise development” unit to assist youth entrepreneurs set up businesses.

Speaking at a function held at the Hotel Jen last night, economic development minister Mohamed Saeed said the unit will facilitate loans, provide information and offer other services to startups.

The government will help youth with constructive ideas set up successful enterprises, he said.

The MVR200 million (US$12.9 million) ‘Get Set’ loan scheme is also intended to achieve the government’s goal of creating youth entrepreneurs, Saeed said.

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Seismic survey underway for Malé – Hulhulé bridge

A Chinese team of scientists is conducting a seismic survey of the ocean basin between capital Malé and the airport island for a planned bridge.

Housing minister Dr Mohamed Muizzu last week said the bridge will run from Malé’s surf point, Raalhugandu, to the southwest corner of Hulhulé island’s airport runway.

The Chinese team is to drill 29 boreholes, 59 meters deep, in the ocean basin to see if it can hold the bridge’s foundation pillars.

Designs for the six-lane bridge is expected to be completed by the end of June this year, the government has announced.

China has previously said it would ‘favorably consider financing’ the bridge if the design proves feasible, while President Xi Jinping said he hoped the government would call the bridge “the China-Maldives friendship bridge”.

It is expected to cost between US$100million to US$150million.

Construction of the Malé–Hulhulé Bridge, first slated to begin in 2014, will now start by the end of this year, and will be completed within two years.

The bridge, a key campaign pledge of President Abdulla Yameen, will also connect Malé to its suburb Hulhumalé, an artificial island located behind Hulhulé and connected by a short causeway.

In March, 227 hectares of land were reclaimed in Hulhumalé for a planned ‘Youth City.’

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Telethon planned to raise funds for Nepal earthquake relief

Maldives media are preparing for a telethon on Saturday to raise funds for earthquake relief in Nepal.

The telethon – organized by the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC) and the Maldives Medical Association – will begin at 12:30pm and run till 6pm. The MRC is also organizing a football match in Malé at 4:15pm on Saturday to raise funds.

Nepal was hit by a second major earthquake on May 12, two weeks after the devastating earthquake in which more than 8000 people were killed.

The estimated damage could cost billions, aid agencies have said.

President Abdulla Yameen has pledged US$50,000 for the relief effort, and the Maldives Police Services and the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital have also pledged to donate.

The Maldives raised US$1.9million to help Palestinians who lost their homes in the Israeli offensive in Gaza last year.

The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has completed 100 housing units in Gaza with the US$1.9 million raised by the Maldivian media

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Agriculture ministry introduces biological agent to control coconut beetles

The ministry of agriculture has started using a biological agent or flying parasite to control coconut beetles.

The agriculture ministry told CNM the parasites will consume beetle larvae before it grows.

The control agents were provided under an agreement with the Chinese environment and plant protection institute and the Chinese academy of tropical agricultural science.

The parasites have been released in various islands, including Hulhumalé, Maafushi, and Fenfushi, under the ministry’s “integrated pest management programme.”

The parasites are bred at a laboratory built in Hulhulé island with Chinese assistance. Two technicians have also been trained at China.

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Court extends detention of Adhaalath Party leader, MDP chairperson

The criminal court has extended the remand detention of Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed by 10 days and seven days, respectively.

The pair were arrested in the wake of the May Day anti-government demonstration with court warrants and accused of inciting violence.

The criminal court subsequently ordered police to the opposition leaders in remand detention for 15 days. The 15-day period expired today.

Ali Waheed and Imran were brought to the remand hearing at the criminal court today and escorted back to the Dhoonidhoo detention centre.

The High Court last week rejected appeals from the pair challenging the legality of the criminal court’s remand detention orders.

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Over 1,900 illegal expatriates deported

The department of immigration has deported over 1,900 illegal migrant workers so far this year.

The department revealed in a press release last week that 1,953 expatriates were identified and deported in 12 operations conducted in 2015. More than 8,800 undocumented workers were deported last year.

Some 36 migrant workers were meanwhile denied entry this year due to medical reasons.

The immigration department media officer told CNM the migrant workers do not have their passports with them, which forces the department to make new passports through embassies.

Embassies in the Maldives are able to make about 30 passports or travel documents a week, while the number of illegal migrant workers the department plans to deport were higher than 30.

The police meanwhile caught 33 undocumented workers last week in a joint operation conducted by the immigration department at the T-jetty and auction shop areas in Malé.

According to the 2014 census, there are 58,683 expatriates residing in the Maldives. However, the department of national planning has said the figure was much lower than numbers recorded by the immigration department.

NGO Transparency Maldives (TM) estimates there are 200,000 migrant workers in the Maldives – two-thirds of the country’s population.

A government report in 2011 revealed human trafficking to be the Maldives’ second most lucrative industry after tourism – worth an estimated US$123 million a year.

The Maldives ratified an Anti-Trafficking Act in December 2013, but TM says implementation, monitoring and enforcement of laws and regulations are crucial to prevent human trafficking.

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MP Riyaz refuses to apologise for ‘discriminatory’ tweets

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed has said his tweets about prohibiting “islanders” from traveling to protest in Malé were misinterpreted.

“Raajje therey meehun [islanders] will no longer have the opportunity to come to Malé, protest on the streets of Malé, assault and harm police,” the MP for Thaa Vilifushi had tweeted on Thursday.

The security forces will no longer allow “islanders” to protest in the capital anymore, he tweeted the following day.

Riyaz’s tweets sparked an outcry on social media. An online petition was also launched calling on the MP to “publicly apologise for his discriminatory and bigoted views against people who are not from Malé.”

The PPM parliamentary group’s deputy leader told Haveeru today that he will not apologise as he did not consider the phrase “raajje therey meehun” to be derogatory.

Riyaz said he meant the opposition alliance will not be allowed to deceive people from the atolls and bring them to Malé for violent protests.

Responding to outrage over Riyaz’s remarks on Twitter, PPM parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan said the MP has been told to change the phrases used in his tweet.

“I hope he will apologise soon!” the majority leader tweeted yesterday.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali meanwhile tweeted today: “Under this government, from HA Thuraakunu to Addu City will be first class Maldivians. There will be no discrimination.”

 

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