Cannabis trafficking convict gets life imprisonment

The Criminal Court on Tuesday has sentenced an individual convicted of cannabis trafficking with life imprisonment.

Criminal Court sentenced Mohamed Shabim, Velidhooge (Lh. Naifaru) in the case.

Maldives Police Service had arrested Shabim earlier on March 11^th for possession of narcotic substances. He was apprehended for questioning for displaying erratic behavior. Authorities discovered 23.9 grams of substances in film containers, later identified as cannabis from laboratory testing.

Police also collected Shabim’s urine samples, which also tested positive for the presence of cannabis. He later confessed to police of cannabis abuse.

According to law, any individual in possession of more than 14 grams of cannabis will be regarded a drug trafficker and will face a fine between MVR 100,000 and MVR 10 million if convicted.

The Prosecutor General’s Office pressed charges of drug trafficking on Shabim.

During trial, Shabim argued he was not aware of the film’s presence in his pocket and claimed he had no ties to it. The convict however did not deny the presence of the film and its discovery from his pocket.

Besides claiming he was unaware of the film’s presence in his pocket, Shabim had not provided any other defense.

The police officers who attended the scene claimed Shabim picked up pace of his movements upon running into them. Although both witnesses had different claims regarding the film’s color, they attested to discovering it in Shabim’s possession, due to which the court disregarded the color difference attested by them.

Based on evidence and testimonies, the court passed a guilty verdict on Shabim convicting him of drug trafficking with a 25-year prison sentence and fine of MVR 100,000.

The court deducted his remand period from the prison sentence.

Shabim was ordered to pay the fine within a one-year period from August 25^th of this year – the date of the court judgment – to Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).