High Court quashes order releasing suspect in drug case
Judge Faiz Rashad has since been removed from the Criminal Court following proceedings related to the case.
The High Court on Tuesday quashed an order issued by former Criminal Court Judge Hussain Faiz Rashad to release Ali Anwar Mohamed, who was arrested in a recent drug case after previously facing charges related to drug smuggling.
Judge Faiz Rashad has since been removed from the Criminal Court following proceedings related to the case.
Ali Anwar Mohamed, 41, of Cosy Corner, S. Hithadhoo, was first arrested and charged in October 2019 for attempting to smuggle 70 kilograms of drugs into the Maldives aboard an Iranian vessel named Alshaban.
In the current case, Anwar was arrested on 11 October on charges of possession, use and trafficking of drugs. He was remanded in custody for five days before being released without conditions.
Judge Faiz Rashad ordered his release on the grounds that the procedure followed for his arrest was flawed.
Police arrested Anwar again on the same day under a new court order. When an additional warrant was sought for his arrest, Anwar travelled to the Maldives and was detained after being denied entry.
Judge Faiz Rashad ruled that the arrest procedure was improper because a search warrant had been issued together with the arrest warrant. He held that where a search warrant is issued, it must be executed first, and that failure to do so rendered the arrest unlawful.
The High Court overturned this decision, ruling that there is no requirement in criminal procedure for a search warrant to be executed before an arrest warrant. The court held that the police had acted in accordance with the law in arresting Anwar.
In its judgment, the High Court said it was unclear why the initial arrest warrant had been issued in the manner it was. The court also noted that Anwar had been re-arrested without a clear explanation for the change in procedure, in breach of legal rules.
The judges stated that the Criminal Court had correctly ordered Anwar to be remanded in custody after finding that the arrest was lawful, and that the subsequent decision to release him on the basis of a procedural error was not proper.
