Safari boat remains in Ukulhas, despite court order

A safari boat accused by locals of smuggling alcohol into AA. Ukulhas remains at the island’s lagoon, despite a court order on Saturday which gave the boat 24 hours to leave the island.

The order was issued by the Ukulhas Magistrate Court at the request of the local council on Saturday night. The 24 hours given by the court expired Sunday night.

A local resident told Sun that the boat had untied the ropes tying it to the harbor, but the boat remains in the lagoon.

He said that Ukulhas has been seeing some bad weather this week, and they expect the boat will be forced out of the lagoon by the police once the weather clears up.

“The police are already operating in the island,” he said.

The boat is accused of smuggling alcohol into the island. The locals, angry over the issue, had gathered outside the council last week demanding action.

Police had not found any alcohol onboard during a search of the boat last week based on a prior court order. Locals allege they had hidden the alcohol before the police arrived.

They don’t believe a search of the boat would be of any use.

“The boat has a permit for the sale of alcohol from the Tourism Ministry. So, a search isn’t even necessary, right?” said one local.

Locals therefore demanded that the boat be ejected from Ukulhas.

They had shut down the channel in and out of Ukulhas in protest after talks with the council failed to produce a favorable outcome.

The protests were suspended at the request of the police.

A local resident told Sun that alcohol smuggled into Ukulhas is most widely sold from a hut in the island. He said they planned on shutting down the hut next, once the boat is expelled.

“The hut was built by the people from the safari boat. The police and the council are powerless,” he said.

Ukulhas, located in central Maldives, is a local tourism hotspot. While tourists are allowed drink alcohol in resorts and safari boats with permits, the sale of alcohol in residential islands is prohibited in Maldives.