Tag: Drugs

Maldives customs reveal million rufiya heroin haul

The Maldives Customs Service has said it last month foiled a “major” attempt to smuggle Rf1 million worth of heroin int0 the country after 100 packets of the drug were found to have been swallowed by a Pakistani national.

Customs representative Mohamed Ibrahim told Minivan News today that 100 packets of “high-grade” heroin,  a combined total weight of 797 grammes, were found to have been swallowed by a 23 year-old male from Pakistan when he had arrived at Male’ International Airport on June 25. Police are now said to be investigating the case, which is said to remain at an early stage.

The seizure come as the government pledges to crackdown on the sale, packing and distribution of hard drugs in the country.

In committing to this crackdown, Mohamed Ibrahim said the challenge of detecting drug packages that have been swallowed by smugglers was nothing new for customs and did not require authorities to review their screening processes in the future. The customs spokesperson claimed it had made similar “significant seizures” in the past.

However, Ibrahim added that the financial value of drugs found during the seizure was particularly significant.
“[The seizure] was worth quite a lot. Heroin like this is very expensive when you compare it to cannabis leaf or hash oil,” he said.

Just last month, the government has vowed to crackdown further upon significant players within the country’s hard drugs trade.  Police announced on June 24 that they had arrested an individual suspected of being one of the country’s most high-profile drug kingpins following months of investigation.

About 896 grammes of drugs were said to have been discovered inside the suspect’s apartment during its investigation. The apartment, which was rented in a building belonging to MP ‘Redwave’ Ahmed Saleem, contained a number of tools that could be used to pack drugs, while powdered narcotics were also found, according to police. Saleem was not himself linked to the drug operation.

Speaking following the police raid last month, President Mohamed Nasheed promised a more compassionate approach would be adopted for dealing with the country’s addict population. However, he additionally pledged to directly target any individuals profiting from the trade of substances like heroin, even if it led back to friends or family.

“We can seize the hard drugs that enter the country. We can find out how it enters, too. And as I envision it we can stop [the trafficking]. While undertaking these efforts, it is now becoming very much certain to me…for example, what happened the other day [the raid] was the sort of thing I find quite shocking,” he said. “800 packets of heroin a night were getting sealed in the house of an honourable member of parliament. 800 packets of heroin were being distributed in the ground floor of this house. True, there might be no connection between the MP and his house to the people doing [the drug dealing]. But what I know is, in my home, in my own home…the laws of the country definitely say this. That I should know what happens in my own home, under my own shelter.”

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Islam allows use of drugs for medical treatment, says Zuhair

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair has said that Islam permits the use of narcotics under exceptional circumstances, such as in the treatment of drug addicts.

Speaking at a ceremony last night marking International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, prominent religious scholar Sheikh Ilyas Hussein said that even a small amount of drugs were not allowed in Islam, and claimed that illegal drugs “are no cure”.

‘’These religious scholars lack information on the topic, they don’t really have adequate information on drug abuse treatment,’’ Zuhair said. ‘’Scholars have to collect more information before they preach.’’

Zuhair explained that opiates were commonly used as pain killers, and questioned why illegal drugs would be disallowed under Islam if it permitted opiates to be injected into the body prior to painful operations.

‘’The government’s aim is to reduce the amount of new drug users, and we have seen progress,’’ he said. ‘’Police statistics show a 50 percent reduction in new drug users last year compared to previous years.’’

Zuhair credited the government’s decision to combine three sessions of school a day into one session with reducing the number of young people on the streets with nothing to do, placing them at risk of drugs and gang involvement.

‘’Formerly when we had three sessions, children studying in the first session would finish school at midday and go home. His mother and father would not be around and he had a lot of free time without anything to do,’’ Zuhair explained. ‘’Then he goes out and join the gangs and starts doing drugs.’’

Zuhair also said penalties and treatments for hard drugs and soft drugs in the Maldives were different in other countries, but said that in the Maldives users of both hard and soft drugs received the same penalties and treatment.

He signaled the government’s intention to seek amendment to these laws, but said this would depend on the level of public awareness and understanding of the issues.

Sheikh Ilyas in his speech last night said that is was impossible to combat the drug issue by administering drugs in increasingly small doses.

He said that the penalty for taking drugs was 40 lashes if it was the first time and more for second time, with harsher penalties also permitted under Islam.

A former drug addict told Minivan News that he agreed with Sheikh Ilyas and that the best method was “stopping it at once”.

‘’I myself tried to recover taking it little by little, and it did not work for me,’’ he said. ‘’There are some others who tried that method and succeeded, but most of the time it is successful only if you try to stop it at once.’’

He said the most important thing for addicts seeking to stop taking drugs was the support from people around him or her, “especially friends and family.”

‘’He has to understand that he is suffering the consequences of his own actions and has to go through the pain [or withdrawal], understanding that it does not last forever and that taking drugs again as a temporary cure is not a permanent solution,’’ he said.

He described the rehabilitation facilities in the Maldives as “useless places.”

“Firstly, the government needs to bring major amendments to the laws, categorising drugs and bringing in other changes to overcome the drug issue,’’ he said.

Society needed to be more aware of illegal drugs and how to cure addiction, he suggested.

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Scale of Maldives drug use and addiction uncertain: UNICEF

Many Maldivians are still failing to understand the difference between drug abuse and addiction, with the full scale of narcotics use in the country yet to come to light, UNICEF’s resident representative said today.

The comments by Zeba Tanvir Bukhari were made during the launch of a new toll-free helpline for local people and communities affected by the trade of illegal drugs in the country.

Speaking this morning at a ceremony at Dharubaaruge  to unveil the hotline, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Health and Family and President Mohamed Nasheed, Bukhari said that EU-funded programme was designed to offer drug users support in trying to overcome addiction.

“The helpline will be able to tell if one has an addiction problem or not. Most people are not able to substantiate between abuse and addiction,” she said. “The information provided by the helpline will be highly effective for enabling many to recognise the symptoms [of addiction] in order to seek proper relief measures. It can help in referring people to an intervention programme for drug abuse and HIV/AIDs-related treatment, support and care.”

The launch of the toll-free service coincided with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and represents a collaboration between the UN, the EU, Maldivian health authorities, local telecoms providers like Wataniya and the government.

The service, which can be accessed by dialling the number 1410 locally, was inaugurated by President Nasheed who spoke with a counsellor via a video screen during today’s promotional launch event.

Outside of the hotline launch, the president has vowed to crackdown on the country’s illegal narcotics trade in a week that has seen police arrested a suspected high-profile drugs kingpin.  This pledge was itself followed by local media  reports of further security crackdowns on shipments at the Maldives’ main shipping ports by the armed forces.

As part of attempts to try and help tackle drug issues at both international and community level, Unicef Resident Representative Bukhari said that although the new helpline would actively try and provide assistance for Maldivians struggling with the effects of drug use, it would be open to anyone who was concerned with issues relating to potential addiction.

“The helpline can guide an individual through specific problems such as avoiding risk factors that that can pose a relapse. The helpline isn’t only for problem drug users, but for co-dependents, family and friends or professionals seeking support in other forms,” she added.

Scale of the problem

According to statistics from a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) study released just last week, 210 million people aged between 15 to 64 years of age –almost five per cent of the world’s population – were believed to have tried illegal drugs or other “illicit” substances at least once during 2010.

Although official figures are not presently available regarding drug use and levels of addiction in the Maldives, Bukhari claimed that the first ever scientifically rigorous drug-use study to be conducted in the Maldives was currently underway. Once published, she said the report was expected to provide a true picture of the scale of drug dependency facing people aged between 15 to 64 living in the country.

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Cemetery used for sex and drugs, says Council, demolishing walls

The walls of the cemetery in Maafaanu have been demolished by Male’ City Council, reports Haveeru, after the Council received complaints that the area was being used for sex and drug dealing.

“Public complaints were received about widespread abuse and trade of illegal drugs and inappropriate sexual activities carried out inside Maafannu Cemetery,” Deputy Mayor Ahmed Shamah told Haveeru. We will expose those places.”

Shamah said the Council would observe the impact of opening the area on the local drug trade and then determine whether to demolish the walls of other cemeteries in the city.

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Two men arrested with three kilograms of drugs worth Rf1.7 million

Police have arrested two Maldivians with three kilograms of illegal narcotics during a special operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Department (DED).

Speaking at a press conference held today at the Iskandar building, DED Superintendent Mohamed Jinah said that the police were able to seize the drugs before they had been circulated across the country, and that this was a great success for the police and government.

Jinah identified the two persons arrested as Hussein Sobah, 27, of Maduvvari in Raa Atoll and Mohamed Aswad, 29, of Nadella in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

Police said the street value of these drugs would be Rf1.7 million (US$110,000) approximately.

The two men were arrested near the UN building in the Galolhu district on Male’, following intelligence reports, police said.

The Drug Enforcement squad searched a private office owned by the pair and found the three kilograms of drugs inside.

Furthermore, Jinah told the press that the drugs were imported with the assistance of a cargo vessel.

‘’The vessel drops these things into the sea into an area determined by them,’’ Jinah said. ‘’They went to the location on a dingy and picked it up and brought it to Male.’’

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Maldivian woman arrested in Trivandrum in drugs case

A Maldivian woman has been arrested in Trivandrum for a drug related matter, reports Haveeru.

The woman was arrested on June 4 in a case relating to drugs that were found on an Indian police officer on the run from the authorities and living on the second floor of the same house, Haveeru reported, citing Maldivian Consul in Trivandrum Mohamed Rasheed.

Haveeru identified the woman as 29 year-old Niuma Zeenath from the island of Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll.

“The drugs were confiscated from the police officer’s apartment. The woman was arrested as she rented the apartment to the police officer,” Rasheed told Haveeru.

Consulate authorities had been in contact with the woman, he added.

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Criminal Court finds two businessmen charged with drug trafficking innocent

The Criminal Court has ruled that the Prosecutor General had been unable to prove that two businessmen Abdulatheef Mohamed and Hassan Ali charged with drug trafficking were guilty of the crime, due to lack of evidence and witnesses presented to the court.

Abdulatheef was arrested by police after they discovered more than one kilogram of illegal narcotics inside his car trunk.

However, the court said that there was not a single piece of evidence presented to the court suggesting that the illegal narcotics were imported with the knowledge of both Hassan and Abdulatheef.

The Criminal Court ruled that there was no reason to suspect that Abdulatheef and Hassan had an intention to traffic drugs.

During the investigation period of Abdulatheef, the Criminal Court summoned and ordered his release, a day after the High Court invalidated a letter sent by the Criminal Court to police asking to release the suspect under house arrest.

The Criminal Court first asked police to keep Abdulatheef in detention until his trial reached a conclusion. However the Criminal Court later sent a letter to the police changing the court’s first decision and asking police to switch Latheef’s detention to house arrest.

The police then appealed at the High Court to invalidate the letter. The High Court judges determined that the order in the letter was not consistent with the applicable laws concerning detention, and overruled it.

Latheef was arrested last year in December, as he was about to drive off in his car after loading some vegetables into the trunk.

Police officers attended the area, stopped his car and unpacked the loaded items in his presence and discovered 1083.4246 grams of illegal narcotics containing the substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (found in cannabis).

The Prosecutor General appealed at the High Court asking for Abdulatheef to be detained until his trial reached a conclusion and to rule that Criminal Court’s order to release him was unlawful.

However, the High Court ruled that there was no grounds to overrule the Criminal Court’s decision.

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Suspect in Sheereen murder case sentenced to 10 years on drug charges

A suspect in the murder case of 30 year-old Maryam Sheereen has been to sentenced 10 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of drug offences by the Criminal Court.

The court verdict read that on January 8 2009, police officers arrested Mohamed Najah and found illegal narcotics in his possession during a search of his person.

Najah’s urine also tested positive to benzodiazepine and opiates, the court stated, sentencing him to five years for possession of illegal narcotics and five years for use of illegal narcotics.

Sheereen’s murder case is still pending in the Criminal Court and will soon conclude. If found guilty, Najah will likely face the death penalty.

Heirs of Sheereen were recently summoned to the court to ask if they had any objections to the execution of Najah if he was found guilty, none of whom did.

According to the Penal Code if a person is found guilty of murder, Shariah law must be applied and the murderer must to be sentenced to death if no heir of the victim has an objection.

Evidence including video footage, phone recordings, DNA samples and testimony from both the taxi driver who unwittingly carried a suit case containing Sheereen’s body and a man who lived in the same apartment as the pair has been presented to the court by the prosecution. Sheereen was found dead under a stack of cement bags a construction site in Male’.

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Drug Enforcement Department seizes illegal narcotics worth Rf1 million

A haul of illegal narcotics valued at more than Rf1 million was seized over the past two weeks, Superintendent Ahmed Jinah, head of the Police Drug Enforcement Department (DED), told local media today.

Jinah revealed that the total street value of the seized illegal drugs was estimated at about Rf1,040,000 (US$80,900).

“During  a special operation conducted by police, [we] seized 425 large packets of illegal drugs that were yet to be distributed to the streets,” he said. ”Two men have been arrested in connection with this case.”

Jinah did not divulge the names of the two persons adding that the investigation was at an early stage.

”The capture of these packets was a great success, as it could potentially have been out in the streets,” he said.

He added that police were now trying to determine who else may be involved in the case as well as how the drugs were smuggled in to the country.

Jinah claimed said that the past two weeks had been very successful in terms of the work of the police DED.

“We have seven very serious drug related cases now currently under investigation,” he said.

During the press conference, Inspector Ibrahim Nawaz, deputy head of the Serious and Organized Crime Department (SOC), said that police were currently trying to ensure that public parks and other public areas were safe and free of criminal activity.

“We are now monitoring the public parks and places made to comfort people at their free time, to make sure it is really used by the public,” Nawaz said.

Meanwhile, said Nawaz, a second round of rehabilitation programmes for minors was now underway at the Feydhufinolhu correctional training centre for juvenile delinquents.

“The qualification of some of the children we have at Feydhufinolhu is such a low level that it is hard for us to believe,” he said. “There are some children that do not even know how to read and write.”

The programme was intended for young people between the ages of 16 to 18.

“We advise parents to be more attentive to their children,” he said. “Sometimes, it has been reported that children threaten their parents telling them they will be physically attacked if their names were given to police to send them to Feydhufinolhu.”

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam meanwhile referred to a recent decision to publicise the identities of 17 high-profile “dangerous criminals” together with their crime records and alleged gang affiliation. Shiyam revealed that police have since received complaints from residents of certain areas in Male’ saying that they did not wish to be linked with the names of the gangs.

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