The People’s Majlis has approved an amendment to the Drug Law enabling the death penalty for individuals who import narcotics.

The amendment, submitted during Wednesday’s sitting, was passed with the unanimous support of all 65 lawmakers present.

Pro-government MP for Gan constituency Yoosuf Nasheed, who introduced the bill on behalf of the government, framed it as a response to the expanding drug trade and trafficking in the Maldives, the growing prevalence of drug possession and usage, as well as the rise in related criminal offenses.

The bill asserted that strengthening the powers granted to law enforcement agencies is necessary to address these escalating problems.

The Judiciary Committee deliberated on the bill for roughly a year before presenting its report, including several amendments, to the parliament floor during Wednesday’s sitting.

Under the amendment, individuals who import narcotics may now face the death penalty. The bill specified that such a sentence can only be imposed with the unanimous agreement of all Supreme Court justices presiding over the case.

If even a single justice dissents, the individual would instead receive the current statutory penalty: life imprisonment and a fine between MVR 100,000 and MVR 10 million.

The bill identifies three conditions under which the death penalty may be applied. One is the importation of more than 350 grams of cannabis. Another is the importation of more than 250 grams of diamorphine. The penalty may also apply if more than 100 grams of any Schedule One narcotic, excluding cannabis and diamorphine is imported. Schedule One comprises 139 narcotic substances.

The amendment further restricts the death penalty to cases in which the narcotics were brought into the country by the individual upon their entry into the Maldives.

In addition to this, the bill introduced a new offense for operating “places where drugs are used” and criminalizes the financing of drug-related activities, attaching severe penalties to these newly defined crimes.