Police decline commenting on Rasheeda, still detained in India

Maldives Police Service declined to comment on the case of Aminath Rasheed – a 57-year-old Maldivian woman from B. Eydhafushi, arrested in India over drug-related charges.

On February 22, Indian new Indian news outlets stated that India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Rasheeda for suspicion of smuggling drugs from Mumbai to Maldives.

As per the outlets, NCB had issued a lookout circular against her, after “her name surfaced in a 3.906 kg opium case, seized from a courier agency last year in December.”

After she visited India, unaware of the lookout circular on February 12 – the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of India took her into custody. The outlet noted that she remains in judicial custody.

 The Indian authorities claim that Rasheeda was in the smuggling business for many years, and also alleged that one of her sons is a peddler who was arrested in Maldives.

It remains unclear whether Rasheeda, who frequents abroad for her clothing business is involved in the drug trade within Maldives or not.

When questioned about the case, a media official for Maldivian Police said that they do not want to make any statements regarding this.

Moreover, despite a local being in custody for days with heavy allegations against her, none of the local authorities have made any statements about the case.

She is being framed: Family 

Meanwhile, the family of Rasheeda firmly denies her involvement, and say that they were met with shock upon hearing the news.

A family member who spoke to Sun – on the condition of anonymity alleged that she was being framed jointly by a Maldivian residing in India and her cargo agent.

“This is a scam committed through a Maldivian living in India’s Bangalore. The other person involved in this is an Indian national named Arif. That is the cargo agent which sends products from India to Rasheeda. This is a scam planned by these two people. I can guarantee you this.”

Additionally, the family say that both the Maldivian and cargo agent would be aware of Rasheeda’s personal details – including her personal details and address, hence it would not be hard to create a package under her name.

“If the address is known, anyone can make a parcel under the name. Even we do not know how this parcel had come out. But no drugs have been discovered from Rasheeda.”

They also stress that she has no criminal record in Maldives or any other country.

The family have been working to free her with assistance from lawyers, however, they have not been successful in their efforts so far.