Another Drug Trafficking Suspect Freed To Leave Maldives

Abdul Waheed, 29, one of three people arrested in March over a US $1 million drug bust, fled to India this month after a court ruled he should not be kept in detention pending trial, police have said.

Under the country’s new constitution, ratified on 7 August, police must seek permission from a judge before detaining anyone for over 24 hours.

But Sri Lankan citizen Sameen Ummul Fahumiyya, 56, another suspect in the same case, also fled the country after being released from custody in June, prior to the new constitution.

Just one of the three suspects arrested over the drugs haul remains in police custody.

Departure To India

Waheed, a Maldivian citizen, was released from custody on 7 August and police received information on 14 August that he had left the country.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said Waheed he was in possession of his passport when he took a plane from Malé International Airport to India.

According to Immigration Controller Ibrahim Shafiu, a law enforcement agency may compel an individual to stay in the country for up to seven days, but after that, must obtain a court order. The procedure has not changed under the new constitution, he added.

Police say they filed a court order with the Attorney General’s Office to prevent Waheed from leaving the country, but the request was denied.

The Drug Bust

Waheed was arrested along with Sameen Ummul Fahumiyya and fellow Sri Lankan Mohamed Wasood Mohamed Bisthaami, 38, for trafficking four kilograms of heroin, worth over Rf 12 million (US $1 million), through the Malé airport in March.

A judge authorised the release of Fahumiyya on 18 June because there was “nowhere to detain her.” She fled to Sri Lanka before her trial, after her passport and belongings were returned to her on her release. Police said Bisthaami remains in custody.

The investigation of the case was completed in June and the case is now with the Attorney General’s Office, Shiyam added.

State attorney Hussein Shameem said all three individuals are still suspects in the case, but he cannot yet say whether all will be prosecuted.

Shameem said Waheed and Fahumiyya could still be prosecuted even if they are abroad, and could be extradited if treaties with the Indian and Sri Lankan governments permit it.

Meanwhile, since the judge decided to release them, police are not taking any action to rearrest Waheed and Fahumiyya.

“They were not deported,” Shiyam said, so they are able to legally exit and re-enter the country.

Extensions Denied

After the new constitution was ratified on 7 August, police requested 83 detentions be extended under the new conditions.

Of these, 66 extensions were granted. Police said of the 17 individuals released, fewer than 10 of these were facing drug-related charges.

Waheed was among these few, along with Visham Shafeeq, 23, a Maldivian arrested in July in connection with two Pakistani drug smugglers caught with 122 “bullets” of heroin in their stomachs.

Mohamed Jinah, head of the police Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), said at the time of his arrest that Visham was “reported to play a big role in bringing in the most dangerous type of heroin, or pure heroin.”


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