11 prison guards jailed pending trial’s end; 2 for 5 days

11 of the 13 prison guards arrested for smuggling contraband into the Maafushi Prison have been remanded in jail pending the outcome of their trial, while the other two were remanded for five days.

An investigation by the police uncovered a large-scale smuggling network at the Maafushi Prison, involving officers from Maldives Correctional Service. At least 18 officers were found to have smuggled drugs, phones and other contraband into the prison.

The police traced MVR 73 million which went into the bank accounts of the officers, which they received in exchange for smuggling the contraband.

13 officers have been arrested so far.

In a press statement on Saturday morning, the police said that the court remanded 11 of the officers in jail pending the outcome of the trial.

The other two officers were remanded in police custody for five days.

The 13 officers arrested include nine arrested from K. Maafushi, two from K. Kaashidhoo, and one each from HA. Utheem and Male’ City.

The police have not disclosed any details regarding the suspects, but said the case was under investigation.

The police announced the investigation into the prison smuggling racket in a press briefing on Thursday night.

The agency said that 18 officers were found to have been involved, six of whom had since left the Correctional Service, while the others remained employed with the agency.

The police said that their bank accounts held millions, despite not being involved in any legitimate business. Some of the officers had up to MVR 24 million in their accounts.

According to the police, bank transfers to their accounts were traced back to inmates, as well as known criminals based in Male’.

Home Minister Ali Ihusan said that it was “imperative” that the police investigate why the officers received such huge sums of money.