Appeal deadline extended in 72kg drug smuggling case
The appeal must now be filed by 31 July 2025.
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The Prosecutor General’s Office has been granted an extension to file an appeal against the acquittal of three individuals charged with smuggling 72 kilograms of drugs into the Maldives by sea.
The case dates back to December 2020, when a fishing vessel named Masjari 2 was allegedly used to smuggle narcotics into the country. Following a sea operation, police recovered the drugs from a vehicle in Malé.
Ten individuals were initially charged in connection with the case. However, the charges against seven of them were later withdrawn, and three individuals were tried at the Criminal Court. The three accused were:
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Irfan Tagiyyu
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Ahmed Naseer
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Mohamed Akram
They were charged with trafficking dimorphine and acquitted by the Criminal Court in January 2025. The Prosecutor General’s Office announced in April its decision to appeal the acquittal but has not yet filed the appeal.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the delay is due to the time taken to receive the lower court’s written verdict and the number of procedural reviews required. The office cited recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, which state that the appeal period begins from the date the verdict report is received, in cases where the report is delayed.
The appeal must now be filed by 31 July 2025.
Criminal Court Judge Ibrahim Ihsan, who presided over the trial, cited several reasons for the acquittal:
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The video and image analysis presented included a photograph of Ahmed Visham, not the accused Mohamed Akram. This misidentification undermined the credibility of the entire report.
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The image and video evidence, deemed crucial in organised crime cases, was ruled inadmissible due to the identification error.
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The preparer of the call logs used as evidence was unidentified, and there was no confirmation that the necessary court orders were obtained to retrieve telecommunications data.
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The prosecution failed to present oral evidence to validate the intelligence reports or confirm they were produced following proper procedures.
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Mobile forensic reports provided no link between the accused and the drugs.
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There was no conclusive evidence connecting Irfan Tagiyyu to the drugs found in the vehicle. While an empty box of a satellite phone brand found on the boat was located in his residence, the court found that this alone did not prove the drugs were smuggled from the boat.
Akram was identified as the owner of the car where the drugs were found, and Naseer as the driver of the launch that transported the drugs from the fishing vessel.
Another suspect, Kiran, has been named as the main individual responsible for the smuggling operation.
