Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan has said that in previous instances, vape oil products have been found to contain drugs. He said that it is due to this that the recent shipment was also tested for drugs, and the results shared.
Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan has said that in previous instances, vape oil products have been found to contain drugs. He said that it is due to this that the recent shipment was also tested for drugs, and the results shared.
A shipment of vape flavours had been seized by Maldives Customs Service on October 14, with the Minister announcing at the time that the products contained drugs. However, Police stated yesterday that after testing, it was confirmed that those products did not contain drugs.
Offering details about this, Minister Ihusan said that anything suspected of containing drugs is done rapid tests on. If the test results are positive, then they are seized and forwarded for further investigation.
Ihusan said in a post on X that the shipment in question had also undergone rapid testing, which indicated that it contained cannabis. He shared test results attached to his post.
Airport gai Customs in intercept kurevey suspected package / item thah rapid test koh, positive vaanama hifehetti thahugeegah havaalukurevey. Migothun mi vape shipment ves test kurevunu adhi photogai mivany edhuvahuge rapid test natheeja (cannabis ah positive). Namaves aammu… https://t.co/AOjRhZRpIo pic.twitter.com/7ytuLZ8JzX
— Minister of Homeland Security & Technology (@min_mohst) November 19, 2024
Ihusan said that the normal procedure is to hand such items over to police for further investigation. They then undergo testing in the police laboratory, with results due in 2 to 7 days.
In the instance that the results of the rapid test and police laboratory test do not tally, further tests are also conducted, the Minister said, and the results are confirmed beyond doubt.
Ihusan said that they had, at the time, refused to reveal the owner of the shipment despite media requests because the results had not yet been confirmed.
"I shared that this shipment had been seized that day because many cases like this occurred in 2024 and 2023 where vape oil shipments contained cannabis, and it was a matter which had public concerns," Ihusan said.
The minister pointed out that sharing the results of the police test, which showed the products did not contain drugs, only goes to demonstrate that the process is conducted with fairness and transparency. He assured that the work would proceed in the same way even going forward.
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