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Ali Akbar at a hearing.

High Court overturns acquittal in drug smuggling, imposes life sentence

On 3 March 2022, the Criminal Court acquitted him of the import and fraud charges, ruling that they were not proven.

1 June 2025
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The High Court has overturned a Criminal Court ruling that acquitted Ali Akbar Hassan in a drug smuggling case and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of MVR 100,000.

Ali Akbar, from Hithadhoo, Addu City, had been charged with drug use, importing drugs, and identity fraud. While he admitted to drug use, he denied the other charges. On 3 March 2022, the Criminal Court acquitted him of the import and fraud charges, ruling that they were not proven.

The Prosecutor General's Office appealed the verdict to the High Court, which ruled unanimously to quash the Criminal Court’s decision.

The High Court sentenced Ali Akbar to life imprisonment for drug smuggling and imposed a MVR 100,000 fine, to be paid within one year. For identity fraud, he was sentenced to four months and 24 days in jail. As he was not in custody at the time of sentencing, the court ordered the police to arrest him and transfer him to the Maldives Correctional Service.

The case stems from an incident on 4 March 2021, when a parcel sent via DHL from the Maldives to Sri Lanka on a SriLankan Airlines flight was flagged by customs. X-ray scans revealed a book titled Biological Science with a concealed compartment suspected of containing drugs.

The parcel was addressed to “Halimath Ulfa” from “H. Zifrol.” However, when contacted, the individual named denied any knowledge of the parcel, stated that the contact number and address were not hers, and said she had never used DHL services.

Under police instructions, customs secured the parcel without opening it. On 9 March 2021, officers in DHL uniforms were deployed to the DHL office to intercept the person collecting the parcel. A man arrived at 1:18 p.m. but left when the parcel name was called out.

Police then visited the listed address disguised as DHL employees. Ali Akbar exited the house and claimed he had come to collect the parcel on behalf of “Halimath Ulfa,” adding that he had visited the DHL office earlier to check the same parcel.

He presented his identity card and was prepared to take delivery, but police intervened. He then denied ownership and refused to accept the parcel. The police opened the parcel in his presence and found drugs concealed inside the book.

Ali Akbar refused to respond further during questioning. His urine test was positive for drug use. Based on the evidence, the High Court found that his actions were consistent with someone involved in the attempted collection of the drugs.

The court stated that his claim of arriving “to see the parcel in the name of Halimath Ulfa” had no reasonable basis if he had no connection to the drugs. It further ruled that in the absence of information identifying another individual responsible, Ali Akbar would be held accountable.

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