The actions of the police regarding the arrest of two individuals on Monday night over drug trafficking suspicions will be investigated for any misconduct, the Commissioner of Police Ahmed Hameed has stated.
The actions of the police on the case are being questioned by the courts, with the courts claiming that the police did not follow proper procedure when making the arrests.
The mother and son duo were first arrested on Monday night with a court order from Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court. Once taken to the Criminal Court to decide on their remand, the 25 year old and the 52 year old were released due to procedural errors in issuing the initial search warrant. Criminal Procedural Laws require the approving judge’s name to be on the court order, which was not inked on the original warrant.
Upon the suspects being released by the Criminal Court, the police again arrested the two individuals and took them to Hulhumale' Court to decide on their remand. Once again, they were released due to incomplete procedures by the police.
The Criminal Court on Wednesday stated that the course of action taken by the police is concerning and questionable, alleging that the police acted against the order of justice.
While the Police Commissioner took to Twitter to announce that Maldives Police Service would exercise all its powers to pursue drug trafficking offenders in compliance with procedural law, the two were arrested for the third time on Wednesday night, after which one has been released. The 25-year old was remanded for 10 days by Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court while his mother was released due to her current medical condition.
In his tweet, CP Hameed tweeted that if there is any misconduct regarding the particular case, it will be investigated and dealt with. Maldives Police Service has no intention of stepping back on their investigations on drugs, he added.
