Beggars addicted to drugs undergoing treatment

Home Minister Ali Ihusaan has said that around 350 beggars who are addicted to drugs are being treated at the Drug Remand Center located at a Hulhumale' halfway house. 

During a PSM interview regarding the celebration of the current administration turning two years, Monister Ihusaan said that solving the issues of drugs, gang crimes and expatriate issues is an ongoing priority of the ministry.

The minister said that while a large proportion of the country’s youth are addicted to drugs, 700 people were not receiving treatment despite Drug Court orders at the time the current administration took office. He added that a special operation is now under way to ensure they are brought into treatment.

“Alongside this, a remand centre has been established at the Hulhumalé halfway house, where 350 drug-addicted beggars of various age groups are now receiving treatment after being identified and taken into care,” he said.

As per Ihusaan, the government is working to establish rehabilitation centers at N. Velidhoo, K. Kaashidhoo and L. Gan. He also said that once that work is finished, results that residents have been asking for will be seen once the services begin, along with the government working to provide better rehabilitation measures for those who have been sentenced in drug matters.

Ihusaan went on to say that while a law that prohibits gang crimes in Maldives has existed in the past, it has not been enforced as efficiently as possible. And so, he said that the act has seen amendments, with it now being properly acted upon.

Ihusaan stated that with the law, the police have established an anti-gang unit and have been put to work. He also stated that gang crimes have gone down by 23 percent, and that the issue will be solved within the next three years.

"These efforts have lowered gang crimes by 23 percent as of now. We hope to solve the issue of gang crimes in the eyes of the public by the next three years," said Ihusaan.

While speaking about expatriate issues, Ihusaan said that when they had begun their work, there were around 290,000 active work permits, but since the information in the border control system and visa system did not match, it is still unclear as to how many expatriates are actually in Maldives.

He said that they launched the Kurangi Operation in order to accumulate expatriate information so that they can discern active expatriates and those who are living in Maldives undocumented.

Minister Ihusaan said the operation has yielded information on more than 200,000 expatriates. He added that Immigration has introduced an application enabling biometric identification, with access provided to frontline immigration officers and police.

He said that due to this, even if expatriates do not give them their information, they can use their picture to identify who they are.

He stated that they will give application access to island councils as well.

According to Ihusaan, once the application is fully rolled out nationwide, authorities will be able to more easily identify individuals without valid visas. He added that expatriates without biometric records are currently being deported, and that more than 9,000 people have been sent back so far.