Home Minister: Police must make people hesitate to join the drug trade

The police must make people “think thrice” and hesitate to join the Maldives’ drug trade, says Home Minister Ali Ihusan.

Drug trafficking is the leading crime in the Maldives, and the root of the many social issues facing the country. Administration after administration has failed to effectively address the issue.

At the launch of the 2024-2028 police strategic action plan on Wednesday morning, Ihusan spoke about the state of drug trafficking in Maldives. He said that neither drug abusers nor traffickers show any fear.

“We must end this. This drug environment should not exist in the Maldives. We will not tolerate this. This administration does not plan on leaving it to the next five-year administration to say that “Alas, we must save this country from the scourge of drugs”,” he said.

Ihusan said that 90 percent of the responsibility of achieving this target lies with the police.

Addressing the public conception that drugs is an issue Maldives will never find a solution to, Ihusan said humans can only achieve what they envision.

He alleged that previous administration failed to resolve the issue of drug trafficking due to lack of intent. He insisted that the current administration has every intention of resolving the issue.

Ihusan noted that the new police strategic action plan has 10 key areas of focus for crime focused policing. He said that the biggest priority is to root out organized crime.

“Our goal isn’t reduced the 10 gangs operating in Maldives to three by the end of five years. Our goal is to erase all 10 gangs,” he said.

Ihusan said the administration will maintain a policy of “zero tolerance” and “non-acceptance.”

According to information shared by the police, 88 cases involving drugs was reported to the police in last month alone. The month before saw police investigate 116 drug cases.