Tag: alcohol

Home Minister vows to track every can of beer

Home Minister Umar Naseer has vowed to limit the sale and use of alcohol to Maldivians by placing a GPS tracker on alcohol containers, or a mark on every can of beer.

While Maldivian law allows foreigners to buy and consume alcohol at licensed locations, citizens are subject to 40 lashes in public and a jail term for alcohol consumption.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Customs Building on the occasion of World Customs Day, Naseer said alcohol released from bonded warehouses have been found in the capital Malé and in the islands.

He suggested safari boats were involved in the sale of illegal alcohol, and vowed to monitor the entry and exit of alcohol from bonded warehouses.

“One method is to place a GPS tracker on alcohol cases and check where they end up. I think this is something we can do with modern technology. God willing, we will do this, or place a mark every bottle of alcohol or every can of beer. We will place this mark before we release them from the bonded warehouses,” he said.

If alcohol containers are found on inhabited islands, the authorities will use the GPS tracker or the mark to track down the party to which the particular containers were released to and hold them accountable, he said.

Naseer also said that Maldives ports are not secure and that the government must invest in fences, x-ray machines, body scanners and improved customs facilities in order to seal the ports.

Expressing concern over the sale and consumption of illegal narcotics, Naseer said these substances must be stopped at the port of entry.

“Every 100 grams of narcotics that enters the Maldives destroys one child in our society. That child then has to go to jail or rehabilitation [centers]. To sell every 100 grams, 10 people have to package it and sell it on the streets. Every 100 grams, on average leads to three robberies. Every 100 grams creates five criminals. Maldivians participate in prostitution in order to buy it. Beg to buy it,” he said.

The Maldives Customs Services faces challenges in carrying out its duties due to the Maldives’ large sea area, the increase in new ports, and limited resources, he added, promising to increase coordination and cooperation between the customs, police, MNDF and immigration in order to monitor the entry of contraband.

In an interview with Minivan News earlier this month, Naseer said his first priority as Home Minister is “the fight against drugs” by controlling the gates through which drugs enter the country.

Last week, Naseer also ordered the Maldives Correctional Services to make preparations to implement the death penalty through lethal injections despite the lack of legislation administering the death penalty.

Amnesty International has called the move a “retrograde step and a serious setback to human rights in the country.”

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Two arrested with 112 bottles and six cases of alcohol

Police have arrested two individuals with 112 bottles and six cases of alcohol.

The police said that a special operation was conducted Friday night to apprehend the two individuals, but have defined to reveal their identity. One is a Sri Lankan national and the other is a Maldivian, the police have said.

Police said that during the special operation police raided a ‘Lodge’ house in Maafannu where the 112 bottles and six cases were found.

The police later searched another warehouse belonging to the two persons and found more alcohol there as well.

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Police raids two safari boat and seize alcohol bottles stored against regulations

Police have raided two safari boats docked at Hulhumale’ and seized alcohol bottles that were stored in the safari boats in violation of the regulations.

According to police, last night (24 December 2013) at about 7:55 pm police raided two safari boats named ‘Handhu’ and Handhu falhi’ after receiving information that these boats have been trading alcohol illegally.

Police said that a total of 106 bottles of alcohol and 784 cans were seized in the operation.

The bottles and cans seized by the police were stored in violation to the regulation on usage of alcohol and poke.

No arrests were made during the operation, however, police said the Drug Enforcement Department was investigating the case.

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Addu City Council member’s detention period extended to 10 days

A magistrate court has extended the detention period of Addu City Council member Ahmed Mirzadh, who was arrested with two other persons last night whilst allegedly drinking alcohol in the Equator Village resort in Addu City.

Police said that the three were arrested during a special operation conducted last night after police received information that three persons were drinking alcohol in Equator Village.

According to police, their remand detention was extended to further investigate the case.

The local media reported that the urine of the three persons tested positive for alcohol.

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MDP’s Hamed Abdul Ghafoor fails to attend court appearance, cites parliamentary privilege

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamed Abdul Ghafoor reportedly failed to attend a court hearing today where he faces charges of refusing to provide a urine sample following suspicions of alcohol consumption.

Sun Online reported that Ghafoor’s legal representatives told the court he was unable to attend the 2pm hearing due to his presence in the People’s Majlis – therefore excusing his absence under parliamentary privilege.

During his last court appearance, Ghafoor denied he had been asked to provide a urine sample following his arrest on the island of Hondaidhoo last November, asking for the case to be thrown out.

Ghafoor allegedly failed to provide the urine sample after being arrested on the uninhabited island along with a group of MDP politicians and other senior political figures.  A number of those arrested with Ghafoor were charged with alcohol and drug possession.

In a case related to the same incident, the Prosecutor General’s Office had previously told the Criminal Court that it had 11 witnesses prepared to testify against Ghafoor, proving that he was in possession – and under the influence – of alcohol when arrested.

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Defence and prosecution call the same witnesses as MP’s alcohol trial continues

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has today told the Criminal Court that it has 11 witnesses against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, proving that he was in possession of – and under the influence of – alcohol when arrested on the island of Hondaidhoo last November.

During today’s hearing the PG’s lawyers said that the 11 witnesses were police officers in the team that raided Hondaidhoo, and that in addition to the 11 witnesses there were two experts that examined the alcohol found on the island and the related documents showing the test results.

Meanwhile, MP Hamid also submitted eight police officers as witnesses in his defence as well as the two experts that examined the alcohol.

The presiding judge told Hamid that some of the police officers that he had submitted as witnesses in his defence were police officers has been named as witnesses for the prosecution, meaning that he would he would have to change witnesses.

Hamid submitted the witnesses to prove to the court that the alcohol found on Hondaidhoo island did not belong to him and that police had illegally arrested him.

The hearing into MDP MP Abdulla Jabir’s case – also concerning the possession and use of alcohol – was scheduled for today but was cancelled due to the defendant being out of the country.

The trial of the third person charged – Jadhulla Jameel – trial was conducted in the Criminal Court today with state lawyers read out the charges against him, before his lawyers were asked to respond to the charges.

His lawyer said that the charges did not specify that Jadhulla had consumed or possessed alcohol.

A total of 10 people were taken into police custody on November 16 after police raided and searched Hondaidhoo with a court warrant. Officers alleged they found large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

Senior MDP members – who had held top portfolios in the the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed – were arrested in the case, including former Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiza, as well as Nasheed’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki and his son.

The state is also pursuing separate charges against MP Hamid in relation to his subsequent failure to provide a urine test.

According to the Drug Act, Sections 123(a), 161(a) and 161(b), any person arrested on suspicion of having abused alcohol or narcotics has an obligation to comply with police requests for routine urine examination by promptly providing urine samples, and failure to comply is a criminal offence punishable with a one-year jail sentence.

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MDP Spokesperson charged for refusing to give urine sample to police

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has charged Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor for refusing to give a urine sample to police in a case last year in which a group of MDP politicians were arrested on an uninhabited island and charged with alcohol and drug possession.

The PGO’s lawyers told the Criminal Court that Ghafoor was arrested on November 16 last year in connection with a drugs case, and said he had refused to give a urine sample and had therefore violated the Drug Act.

Ghafoor’s lawyer told the court that she could only respond to the charges on behalf of her client after receiving the relevant documents. The presiding judge, Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed, told her these would be provided and scheduled the next hearing for October 9.

Ghafoor was arrested yesterday (September 30) in the afternoon ahead of his court hearing. He was released following the hearing.

Ghafoor is also accused in another case before the court concerning possession and consumption of alcohol and cannabis.

A total of 10 people were taken into police custody on 16 November 2012 after police raided and searched Hondaidhoo with a court warrant. Officers alleged they found large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

On 22 August 2013, criminal court media official Ahmed Mohamed Manik confirmed the PG had charged MDP MP Abdulla Jabir, Ghafoor, and Jadhulla Jameel with smuggling alcohol into the country and consuming it, as well as possession of cannabis and objecting to urine testing.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiza were also charged for objecting to take urine tests, said Manik.

Two Sri Lankan nationals named Raj Mohan and Anoor Bandaranayk, as well as a Bangladeshi named Suhail Rana, were also taken into custody following the island raid. Their cases have not been filed at the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office.

According to the Drug Act, Sections 123(a), 161(a), and 161(b), any person arrested on suspicion of having abused alcohol or narcotics has an obligation to comply with police requests for routine urine examination by promptly providing urine samples, and failure to comply is a criminal offence punishable by a one year jail sentence.

Additionally, the son of Nasheed’s former special envoy, Mohamed Hamdhoon Zaki,  has been charged for trafficking illegal drugs into the country – the penalty for which is 25 years and a fine of up to MVR 10 million (US$650,000).

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Police present MDP MP Jabir to Criminal Court for alcohol raid trial

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir was presented to the Criminal Court by police today, after being kept in custody since Tuesday (September 10) ahead of his trial for alleged possession of alcohol and cannabis.

Jabir and fellow MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor are among several senior party figures charged with drug and alcohol offences, after being arrested on on Hondaidhoo Island in November whilst allegedly under the influence of illegal substances.

While Jabir at the time of his arrest was a member of the Jumhoree Party (JP) – he later defected to the opposition – the MDP has maintained that his arrest was politically motivated to coincide with a no confidence motion at the time against senior government figures.

The MDP has alleged that the treatment of its MPs, including, Jabir was noticeably different to those of other parties currently aligned to the present government, accusing prosecutors of persecuting its members and supporters.

The trial began earlier this month, with Ghafoor being the only MP in attendance to hear charges against him concerning the case.

A total of 10 people taken into police custody on November 16 after officers obtain a warrant to search the island of Hondaidhoo.

Today’s hearing

Criminal Court Spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Manik said state prosecutors during the hearing read out a list of charges against Jabir. The MDP MP will be given a chance to respond to these charges against him at the next hearing, Manik added.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed to Minivan News that Jabir had been held in police custody ahead of the hearing, under an order previously issued by the Criminal Court. Police did not provide any further details on where the MP had been detained.

Jabir earlier this week had his passport held by immigration officials when trying to leave the country, after previously failing to attend the opening hearing of the trial into the charges against him.

Explaining the absence, MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy ‘Inthi’ told Minivan News he understood Jabir had not received a summons from the Criminal Court to attend the trial, but would have attended if having done so.

“He has been away from Male’ campaigning [for the presidential election held on September 7] and had not therefore received a summons,” he said, accusing the country’s courts of purposefully scheduling hearings against MDP MPs to try and stymie the party’s election campaign.

Fahmy additionally claimed that the Criminal Court had failed to follow its own procedures, and that a summons had to be re-sent if not received by the individual in question.

By comparison, he alleged that Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP and Deputy Speak of Parliament Ahmed Nazim had failed to respond to 12 summons without arrest in relation to his trial for fraud – charges which he was later acquitted of. That case is now the subject of an ongoing High Court appeal.

Fahmy said although the MDP had not been requested to provide a lawyer for Jabir, the party would be ready to provide assistance to him in what it continues to allege is a “politically motivated” arrest.

Fahmy also alleged that the judiciary was seeking to fast track cases against MDP members to hinder the party and its campaigning ahead of a run-off vote scheduled for September 28.

He himself is currently facing a charge of “disobeying orders” over allegedly contemptuous remarks he made against the judiciary during a television show.

Fahmy argued that Jabir, along with Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and the son of the former President Nasheed’s Special Envoy, Mohamed Hamdhoon Zaki, were on a “private island” when they arrested by police officers, who he alleged beat and then arrested them.

“This all happened at the time of a no confidence motion against Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim and is a clear attempt at intimidation,” claimed Fahmy.

He said that the arrest was against Majlis regulations that say an MP could not be arrested at the time of a no confidence vote.

The no confidence vote had been scheduled for April 8, but was postponed after MDP MPs objected to a decision to not hold the vote in secret despite a parliamentary decision approving a secret ballot.

Previous MP liquor cases

Police last year forwarded a case for prosecution against MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, after a bottle of alcohol was allegedly found in his luggage in March 2012 upon his return to the Maldives after an overseas trip.

The bottle was allegedly discovered when his luggage was screened.

Shiyam is the head of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), a new party allied with the Progressive Party of the Maldives and its bid for the presidency on September 28.

Newspaper Haveeru reported on September 3 this year that the case was sent back to police by the Prosecutor General’s Office in August 2012 to clarify further information.

Police have yet to send the case to the PG office over a year later.

The penalty for alcohol possession in the penal code is either a fine of between MVR1,000 to MVR3,000 or imprisonment, banishment or house arrest between one to three years.

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