Commissioner of Prisons, Ahmed Mohamed Fulhu has stated that 70 percent of those locked up in jails under the authority of Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) are all in for crimes related to drugs.

The commissioner made this statement during his speech at the ‘Training on Basic Psychosocial Education’ programme and ‘Drug Education Awareness Programme for Prison Officers' hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with MCS for the development of prison officers.

The commissioner stated that 70 percent of prisoners in the four jails run by MCS are all locked up because they were involved in drugs and that in addition to hosting rehabilitation programs in correctional facilities, it is important that the drug supply to the Maldives is brought to a stop.

According to the statistics publicized by MCS, in the first six months of this year alone, half a kilo of drugs was confiscated from different operations.

Furthermore, according to the commissioner, because of the way prisons are constructed in the Maldives -with no barrier walls or modern amenities-, many difficulties are faced by MCS when it comes to looking after the safety and security of jails; especially because basic principles are not applied. He added that even after decreasing the number of times prisoners are moved around by one per cent due to Covid-19, 178 mobile phones were confiscated during the first six months of the year.

The commissioner informed that MCS is working on getting permission for prisoners to work in government companies under parole and that MCS is also speaking with relevant authorities to impose punishments that do not involve jail sentences for certain crimes.

During this ceremony, officers who completed their training programs were given a certificate. Deputy Commissioner of Prisons, Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, MCS’s Commissioned Officers and UNODC’s National Program Coordinator, Thoiba Saeed along with the facilitators of these programs were also present at the ceremony.