Boat captain's remand extended in 7kg drugs bust case

The Criminal Court ordered a 15-day extension on the remand of "Muthaa Diamond" captain for the alleged smuggling of seven kilograms of drugs into the Maldives.

Authorities arrested 10 expatriates earlier on March 21 for attempting to smuggle drugs into the Maldives via sea. Five out of these foreigners received a five-day remand each, while the others received a single-day remand each.

The Criminal Court on Saturday, ordered a remand extension by another 15 days on the captain of the vessel, Nasvan Adil, 30, an Indonesian national.

Nasvan is accused with smuggling and trafficking narcotics.

The court's order confirms Adeel was arrested for his suspected involvement in smuggling and trafficking drugs into the Maldives via the vessel.

The court's order further stated that authorities discovered seven sheets of narcotic substances from the vessel's engine room upon inspection.

Preliminary tests confirm the substances were cannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinol, with a net weight of 6.5 kilograms.

The court held Nasvan responsible for the cargo loaded to the vessel as its captain if the property has not been claimed by anyone else.

Nasvan had claimed he did not know the items were being smuggled on his vessel. But the court said this was insufficient for him avoid liability as the vessel's captain.

Although Nasvan's defense argued other suspects in the case had been released already, police said they learned the substances had been smuggled under the captaincy of Nasvan. The authority further noted that they had not found any evidence linking the items to anyone else on board the vessel at the time.

The court further highlighted that while some of the individuals in the case had been released, Nasvan's situation differs since he is in charge of the vessel.