Woman sentenced to 18 years in prison for collecting 1.9 kg of smuggled drugs

A woman has been sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined MVR 75,000 for attempting to collect 1.9 kilograms of drugs smuggled into Maldives.

Criminal Court yesterday sentenced Azma Shareef for going to collect a package containing drugs that was brought into the country through FedEx in September 2023 in the name of another person.

Testifying at trial, police said Azma claimed the package during a joint controlled delivery operation carried out by police and customs to identify those involved in the smuggling.

Azma told the court that she went to collect the package at the request of a friend. The package was addressed to a person named Fathimath Jameema. However, police testified that Azma failed to cooperate with efforts to identify and hand over the package to its intended recipient. As a result, the controlled delivery operation was terminated and Azma was arrested.

Police further testified that Azma initially agreed to cooperate but later refused to answer a call made to her phone from the number listed on the package while in the presence of officers. She also refused to provide access to her phone, according to testimony.

Based on this conduct, the court concluded that Azma knew the package contained drugs when she went to collect it.

The verdict stated that if the package had no connection to her, she would have cooperated with police by identifying the owner and providing evidence to prove her innocence. However, Azma’s refusal to cooperate and failure to submit any evidence regarding ownership demonstrated her knowledge of the contents of the package.

Azma was therefore convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined MVR 75,000. After deducting time served in remand custody during the investigation and trial, she will serve 15 years and nine months in prison.

The court ordered that the fine be paid to the state within one year.