Man jailed for 25 years over drug trafficking operation
The 25-year prison sentence was imposed for trafficking diamorphine. The court also ordered him to pay a fine of MVR 100,000.
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A 37-year-old farmer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined MVR 100,000 after being convicted of trafficking diamorphine from a farm on the uninhabited island of Gan in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.
GDh. Gaadhoo Magistrate Court sentenced Ali Shazeen, of Nooreege, GDh. Gaadhoo, to 25 years in prison, treating the sentence as life imprisonment under the applicable law.
According to police, Shazeen was storing and selling drugs from the farm he operated on Gan, an uninhabited island in the same lagoon as Gaadhoo.
Police became aware of the alleged operation in 2021. Officers subsequently searched the farming area under a court warrant and recovered drugs and alcohol from the site.
After completing their investigation, police forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office about a month later. Prosecutors subsequently charged Shazeen with two offences: trafficking drugs and carrying out an activity requiring a permit without obtaining the necessary authorisation.
The court found him guilty on both charges.
The 25-year prison sentence was imposed for trafficking diamorphine. The court also ordered him to pay a fine of MVR 100,000.
Shazeen is the fourth person to receive a 25-year prison sentence for trafficking diamorphine in about four months.
The three others are Ali Ibrahim, 37, from Sh. Milandhoo; Abdul Wahhab, 59, from S. Meedhoo; and Mohamed Fariq, 28, from Sh. Maaungoodhoo.
