Man in drug case released over illegal arrest

Criminal Court on Tuesday released a man arrested for allegedly possessing drugs and peddling drugs, holding his search and arrest illegal.

The 39-year-old male, a resident of Male, was released by the court after he was taken for further remand.

His detention order said that he was not arrested for committing any crime or based on any intelligence inputs. He was stopped, frisked and arrested in violation of Sections 38 and 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the order said.

"The police have clarified that the man was arrested because he is usually arrested in such cases. This is not sufficient grounds for the law to empower the police to arrest a person," said the order issued by Criminal Court Judge Ismail Shafiu.

Section 38 of the Act quoted in the court's order lays down procedures for apprehending and frisking people. "No person shall be stopped and frisked except in accordance with the provisions of the section," it reads. 

Section 40 of the Act lays down the procedure for arrest of persons.

While the two clauses quoted have multiple articles, the court's order does not specify which of them the police had violated.

Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear how much drugs the man had been arrested with.