HDh. Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court has handed a 50 year prison sentence to a woman convicted in a drug trafficking case. 

The woman, hailing from Kulhudhuffushi, received the sentence for being convicted of drug trafficking under Appendix 1 and trafficking diamorphine.

She was charged after authorities found drugs in her possession during a search prompted by her suspicious behaviour upon disembarking a flight at Hanimaadhoo Airport. 

She herself handed over to police drugs concealed in her clothes. However, she denied the charges in court and claimed that drugs had not been found either in her possession or concealed on her body. She also claimed that she was under coercion. 

Despite the claims, the woman did not specify details of the coercion even during the trial, nor did she submit any evidence in her defence. 

The court's ruling states that although she has denied the charges, her actions make it evident that she had been aware of the drugs concealed in the bra she was wearing even when she had boarded the flight from Male' to Hanimaadhoo. 

The court said that logic dictates drugs cannot be concealed in a bra someone is wearing without their knowledge, and that her actions indicate her involvement in the smuggling.

Witness statements further support that she had been agitated and worried when she had arrived at the Hanimaadhoo Airport. She was reportedly looking around nervously and walking a fast pace, according to Police patrolling the area, who ultimately intervened and stopped her. The court said that this counts as circumstantial evidence. 

As material evidence, Magistrate Hawwa Ibrahim said that drugs had, in fact, been found in her possession. 

The court handed her a life sentence (25 years) in prison and a fine of MVR 100,000 for diamorphine trafficking, and another 25 years plus an MVR 100,000 fine for drug trafficking as defined in Appendix 1.