Addu City Drug Convict Serving Life Sentence Released by Parole Board

One of Addu City’s most notorious drug kingpins, who was serving a life sentence, has been released by the Parole Board.

RaajjeMV understands that Ibrahim Rasheed, a high-profile figure involved in drug trafficking, was released by the Parole Board last Tuesday. However, the specific grounds for this decision remain unclear.

Rasheed was arrested in 2020 during a major operation conducted by the Maldives Police Service in Addu City. More than 80 kilograms of narcotics were seized during the operation.

Rasheed, whom police accuse of being one of the most prominent figures involved in the smuggling and trafficking of narcotics into Addu City, was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2015. The sentence was handed down by the Hithadhoo Magistrate Court.

In this case, the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and entered into a plea agreement with the state. Although the court initially imposed a 50-year prison sentence, it was reduced to 25 years as a result of the leniency granted following the guilty plea.

Police previously reported that during a special operation conducted in October 2020, authorities seized 61 kilograms of diamorphine and 17.97 kilograms of methamphetamine racemate from the suspect, Rasheed. A total of 17 other individuals were also arrested alongside him during the operation.

The Parole Board is a statutory body established by the President under the Prisons and Parole Act. The board functions under the oversight of the Maldives Correctional Service, which is an agency under the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology. Pursuant to Section 127 of the Act, the Commissioner of Prisons is mandated to oversee the board’s operations, facilitate the release of inmates under the legal framework, and ensure the effective implementation and sustainability of the parole system.