Drugs worth MVR 21.6m seized in three days

Drugs worth MVR 21.6 million have been seized over the course of three days.

This was revealed by Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan, via a post on social media platform ‘X’ on Wednesday.

In his post, Minister Ihusan revealed that several counter-narcotics operations were conducted jointly by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and the Maldives Customs Service over the past three days.

All of the operations stemmed from intelligence reports.

Over the course of 72 hours, officers of MPS and customs seized narcotics weighing 16.69 kilograms, as part of the operations.

The minister noted that the drugs carry a street value of MVR 21.6 million.

Ihusan noted that authorities are aiming for a “drug-free Maldives”, under the leadership of the incumbent president, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

According to statistics publicized by the police institution, a total of 410 cases related to drugs, have been lodged at the institution so far this year. Out of these, 130 were filed in March alone.

The minister went on to reveal that efforts were underway to seize drugs being smuggled via post, in collaboration with the customs department.

He also noted that they were working closely with foreign intelligence agencies to crackdown on drug smuggling attempts into the Maldives, via sea route.

Stressing that it was important to reduce the demand for narcotics, in order to tackle the drug issue, Minister Ihusan highlighted that efforts were underway to achieve this goal.

The government in mid-March made the installation of tracking devices on marine vessels, mandatory, in a bid to combat the sale and trafficking of drugs.

The president resolved to implement "Vessel Tracking Devices" on marine vessels and systematically monitor their activities in a bid to successfully bring an end to the trafficking of narcotic drugs across the island nation.

The decision to install and oversee marine vessels via tracking devices strategically supports the anti-drug operations conducted by the police.

Further, it will also address the widespread issue of drug trafficking across the country.

The president has also announced that the Sea Vessel Safety Regulation will be revised to enforce the mandatory installation of tracking devices on all marine vessels.