72kg drug case dismissed after court fee not paid
The three charged with trafficking in dimorphine
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The High Court has dismissed the conviction of three men accused of smuggling 72 kg of drugs into Maldives on a fishing boat.
In December 2020, 10 people were charged in connection with smuggling drugs into Maldives on a boat named Masjaree. The Criminal Court later tried three of them.
The three charged with trafficking in dimorphine were:
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Irfan Thagiyyu, Deyliyaage / Addu Hulhudhoo
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Ahmed Naseer, Anbugasdhoshuge / Dh. Maaenboodhoo
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Mohamed Akram, H. GardenBeauty
All three were acquitted by the Criminal Court in January. The Prosecutor General’s Office filed an appeal in the High Court in April.
The High Court sent a letter dismissing the case. The letter, signed by High Court Registrar Mariyam Hurshidha, stated that the registration fee had not been paid within the deadline mentioned in the notice. The amount was MVR 300.
Prosecutor’s Office counsel and spokesperson Ahmed Shafeeu said the High Court had not served any notice on the official communication channel.
“The communication should have taken place through the agreed channel. But no notice was served on that mail. Later it was discovered that the High Court had sent the mail to an employee who was on leave at the time. That is not how it should have been,” he said.
The Prosecutor’s Office said it would appeal the decision and stated that it is a matter the High Court should review on its own initiative.
Criminal Court Judge Ibrahim Ihsan, who heard the case and ruled in January, noted several key points:
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The video and image analysis report contained an error involving Akram’s photo and Ahmed Visham’s photograph from Alex / R. Inguraidhoo. This error undermined the credibility of the entire report.
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Video and image analysis reports were the most important evidence in the case. The error meant the evidence could not be used to prove guilt.
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The preparer of the call charts was unknown, and it was unclear whether court orders were obtained to allow the Telecommunications Authority to gather information on phone numbers, calls and cell locations.
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The prosecution did not submit oral evidence to prove the authenticity of the intelligence reports or to confirm that the reports were prepared according to procedures.
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Mobile forensic reports did not provide any information linking the accused to the incident.
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A satellite phone of the Thurayaa brand was found on the boat Masjaree-2. An empty box of the same brand was found at Irfan’s house. The state did not prove that the drugs were smuggled from the boat.
The acquittal remains in effect following the High Court’s dismissal.
