Man under influence of drugs arrested from Male’ mosque

A man believed to be under the influence of drugs has been arrested from a mosque in Male’ City.

Police identified the suspect as a 34-year-old male.

He was arrested from the trader’s mosque located in Maafannu district at 01:35 am on Thursday.

Maldivian capital has been facing a rise in cases of drug abuse within mosques, especially since mosques were partially closed as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the congested capital last May.

Imams complain smoking, drug abuse and other illegal activity have become commonplace in mosques.

Police confirm they have received repeated complaints over such cases.

The arrest of the 34-year-old on early Thursday follows the arrest of 15 people for similar offenses earlier this week.