A man who went to the Post Office to pick up a box of books in which drugs were concealed has been sentenced to 18 years in prison and a fine of MVR 75,000.
The Criminal Court issued the sentence on Monday against Ali Mufaviz, of Hudhuvilaage, S. Meedhoo. He was convicted of smuggling drugs into the country, under Appendix 1.
The charges were pressed against him for going to the Post Office in December, 2023 to receive a package containing books in which drugs were concealed. As the package addressee had been another individual, Mufaviz had gone to the Post Office with the addressee's ID card copy and a signed letter.
Customs opened the package in Mufaviz's presence, and found drugs concealed in the books. The drugs concealed in the books were found to be over a kilo of methcathinone.
The package was then handed over to Police and a controlled operation was planned to find out who arrived to pick up the package from Mufaviz. However, the operation could not be carried out because calls to the number provided by Mufaviz as being that of the person who had asked him to pick up the package went unanswered.
Mufaviz claimed that he was unaware that the package contained drugs, and that he had gone to receive the package to fulfill a delivery order for a page.
The Criminal Court's verdict states that in consideration of the events in the case, Mufaviz's role had been to deliver the box to a specific individual. Mufaviz played the role of bringing the package into the country and delivering it to its intended destination, the verdict reads.
While Mufaviz acted as an intermediary in the case, his statements, as well as those of witnesses, proves that he had worked to receive the package and deliver it to a specific individual.
Further, Mufaviz's intentions are questionable as he had provided false information about the package and concealed the identity of the person who had tasked him with picking up the package.
Mufaviz was found guilty, and was given an 18 year prison sentence, along with an MVR 75,000 fine.
With time served deducted, Mufaviz now has to serve 15 years, 9 months and 27 days in prison.
