Drugs were discovered and seized during a joint operation initiated by the Police’s Drug Enforcement Department and Counter Narcotics Intelligence on Thursday.
Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed in a tweet said that the drugs seized were heroin and weighs a total of 42 kgs. The drugs were hidden under a false flooring inside a house in Male City’s Maafannu district.
Since yesterday, Drug Enforcement & Counter Narcotics Intelligence of @PoliceMv have been conducting a search operation in Male’. Found & seized approximately 42 kgs of heroin hidden under a false flooring in a house in Maafannu. Arrested one person and investigation continues. pic.twitter.com/dMcEQmwbIS
— Mohamed Hameed (@M_Hameedh) March 25, 2022
He further disclosed that a key suspect in connection to the case was arrested but the identity was not disclosed at that time.
Today, it has been confirmed that the suspect arrested in the case is none other than Ahmed Hussain who is a Council Member of opposition People’s National Congress (PNC). He had contested for Alifushi seat in the last parliamentary elections on PNC’s ticket as well.
PNC, together with Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) forms the opposition coalition. They announced in a statement that the the party’s constitution grants it the power to act against party members who engages in major crimes. Hence, dismissed Ahmed Hussain from his position in the party’s council following his involvement in the drug case.
PNC had also suspended another council member, Shaheeb Ibrahim, in connection to a 130 kilo drug trafficking case back in 2020.
As illegal import of drugs into Maldives continues to grow in frequency, the prompt action taken by the police regarding the matter has significantly increased. As of recent, Police have been seizing large amounts of drugs from the Male area.
