A Pakistani national who smuggled in over 5kg of drugs into Maldives via air transport has been sentenced to life in prison by the Criminal Court.
Abdul Lathif Baloch was charged with drug trafficking under Appendix 1 after authorities discovered drugs in a bag registered under his name during a search at Velana International Airport upon his arrival in the Maldives.
He travelled to Maldives on a Qatar Airways flight and went to the Customs channel with his luggage of his own volition. When his boarding pass was checked, Customs officers found that two bags had been registered under his name. However, he had only brought one bag with him.
Customs officers then escorted him to the baggage belt, where the second bag was retrieved. A scan of the bag raised suspicions, leading to a physical inspection, through which 5,000g of diamorphine were found wrapped in two packages.
Baloch denied the charges, claiming the bag did not belong to him. However, the Criminal Court ruled that the evidence submitted by the State proves the case.
The court ruled that it is proven that the drugs in the bag had been brought with the intention of smuggling by Baloch. Despite the bag having been left on the luggage belt, it had a tag with Baloch's name on it, which proves it had been checked in by him, the court ruled.
He was convicted of drug trafficking in to the Maldives, and was given a life sentence in prison. When the charges were pressed against Baloch, a life sentence was defined as 25 years in the law.
Since the incident, Baloch had been held in detention, spanning 1 year, 11 months and 10 days. As a result, he now has to serve the remainder of the prison sentence, which amounts to 23 years and 20 days.
As the court believes he has smuggled drugs into Maldives on more than one instance, and as more people are believed to have been involved, a large fine was also levied against him. Baloch has been ordered to pay MVR 2 million in fines within 12 months.
