Man acquitted in drug case handed life sentence on appeal
The High Court ruled that 14 grams considered for trafficking standards; it's unlikely that 246 grams will be placed to swindle someone.
By
Aman Haleem
High Court on Wednesday set aside the Criminal Court's verdict that found a drug case where drugs were discovered under the seat of a motorcycle, unproven and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of MVR 100,000.
Aiham Mohamed, M.A. Ruth, who is involved in the case, was stopped by the police when he and another person came off of a Hulhumale ferry.
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The drugs were recovered from a bag under the seat of the motorcycle that Aiham was driving
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According to the police investigation report, the bag contained 246.7 grams of cannabis
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He was charged with drug trafficking
After the state challenged the lower court's verdict, the high court ruled that the motorcycle in which the drugs were found under the seat was not in Aiham's control. Since his statement could not be substantiated, the High Court held him guilty of trafficking.
There are two main points that Aiham took to defend himself from this case:
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During the 30 minutes of the bike being on the ferry, the bike was not under his control
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The drug was placed under the bike’s seat by someone to "catch him out" in the time he spent on the ferry
Although he did not take responsibility for the drugs, Aiham said during the police investigation that it was he who had loaded and unloaded the bike on the ferry. Apart from the drugs found under the seat, he had taken responsibility for other drugs as well.
The state used this in the High Court against him. The state's counsel told the court that:
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The time spent on the ferry wasn't enough to put something under the seat of a parked bike
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The drugs were found inside a helmet under the seat of the bike
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Aiham's urine test positive for cannabis
In his judgment, Justice Hussain Majeed, who was presiding over the bench hearing the case, noted:
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14 grams considered for trafficking standards; it's unlikely that 246 grams will be placed to swindle someone
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Unable to prove how he had no control over the vehicle, Aiham should take responsibility for the drugs
Justice Huzaifa Mohamed and Justice Dheebanaz Fahmy, who were the other members of the bench, supported the ruling.
