The police have seized a large amount of contraband smuggled into Maafushi Prison in a major operation.
The operation was conducted by the police at the request of the Homeland Security Ministry in collaboration with the Maldives Correctional Service and the MNDF. A total of 304 officers from the three agencies participated in the operation.
Beginning last Thursday, the operation resulted in the arrest of 13 corrections officers accused of facilitating the smuggling of prohibited items into the prison.
During the operation, police searched eight prison cells and found:
- 29 mobile phones
- 17 chargers
- 12 headsets
- 3 pen drives
- 3 AirPods
- 3 cables
- 2 SIM cards
- 4 bottles of alcoholic substance
A total of 18 corrections officers are accused of helping smuggle prohibited substances and items into the jail. Police revealed that MVR 24 million had been deposited into the account of single prison officer over multiples occasions, with a total of MVR 73.6 million deposited into the accounts of the officers believed to be involved.
Various measures have been taken against prison officers in the past for aiding in smuggling prohibited items into prisons. However, no special operation had been conducted to track down the officers involved in such activities.
