Supreme Court, on Wednesday, upheld the High Court’s decision to remand Shaheeb Ibrahim, arrested over a drug bust involving 130 kilograms of illegal substances, till the end of his trial.
Shaheeb, who is a prominent member of the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC), was initially released by the Criminal Court with a list of requirements, but the High Court, upon appeal, ordered his arrest in November.
As per the Supreme Court’s verdict, Maldives Police Service had submitted sufficient evidence against Shaheeb to the Criminal Court, including police statements, witness statements, mobile phone extraction report and intelligence reports.
The apex court’s verdict also read that that there was enough evidence to back up the allegations against Shaheeb.
Although Shaheeb claimed that the vessel containing the drugs were inspected in the absence of anyone that was unbiased against him, Supreme Court ruled that this claim was false as the vessel was inspected in the presence of the boat captain and crew members.
Moreover, the court stated that High Court had remanded him till trial end after analysing the evidence submitted to the lower court, and therefore, it cannot be ruled that he was remanded unlawfully.
Hence, the three judges presiding over the case, Judge Dr Mohamed Ibrahim, Judge Aisha Shujoon Mohamed and Judge Mahaaz Ali Zahir, concluded that there was no reason to reject the High Court’s decision.
Shaheeb, who was filling the position of PNC’s council member at the time of the drug bust, was suspended from all party activities shortly after his arrest.
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