Police have seized 98 kg of narcotics in the major drug operation carried out in Addu City.
In a statement, Police said that a multi-department drug operation carried out in Addu City had dismantled a major drug network headed by Abdullah Ibrahim of Finivaru, S.Hithadhoo which involved local and foreign drug traffickers.
It said that 14 people were arrested in the operation and that all were local men between the ages of 23 to 40.
Police also said that the operation had been underway since the 1st of this month and that it had seized 98.6kg of narcotics drugs in the operation. It said that this includes MDMA, Amphetamine, and heroin.
Police noted that the mastermind behind the drug network Abdullah Ibrahim had a criminal record with filled drug-related offenses but had never been given a major sentence for his previous crimes.
It said that the Hithadhoo Magistrate court has sentenced that he and his aide Yaamin Naseer aged 23 would be remanded under custody until the conclusion of the trial for the case.
Police also said that others who had been arrested in the operation would be remanded in custody for five more days as per court order.
Maldives Police Services in its statement reiterated that the intelligence behind the successful drug operation was fully mined by local officers and that no foreign agency aided in the retrieval of the information.
Police also said that it is continuing to search certain premises in Addu city as part of the ongoing drug operation and that it had already shared the information about the seized narcotics with its international counterparts working to bring down international drug trafficking networks.
