Arshad, an alleged drug lord, sentenced to nine months after High Court‑ordered retrial of 2016 theft case

The Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced Arshad Khalid, Allora, GDh. Hoadedhdhoo, to nine months in jail over a 2016 theft case.

The burglary took place on August 20, 2016, when two safes and other items were damaged at the View Constructions office on the second floor of G. Niusharazuge.

Arshad was initially charged with attempted robbery and damage to property. However, in 2019, the Criminal Court acquitted him of both charges. The prosecution appealed the verdict, and the High Court later ordered the Criminal Court to reconsider the case.

Following the retrial, the High Court ruled that both charges had been proven. Arshad was convicted of attempted robbery in two counts and sentenced to two months and 12 days, and convicted of damage to property and sentenced to seven months and six days. He will serve the remaining term after deducting the period he has already spent in custody.

The High Court said the Criminal Court had acquitted Arshad without properly considering the prosecution’s evidence. Prosecutors argued that a shoe print lifted from a table at the crime scene matched Arshad’s footwear, and that a video analysis report indicated the person seen in the footage was Arshad.

The Criminal Court delivered the sentencing on Sunday.

Arshad is also a key suspect in several major drug‑trafficking cases.

In March 2020, he was arrested with a large quantity of drugs, but the Criminal Court ruled that the charges were not proven. The prosecution appealed the decision to the High Court.

Police again charged Arshad in December 2021, after seizing 119 kg of drugs in a special operation in Male' City.

He later fled to Dubai when attempts were made to arrest him. While he was back in Maldives, the High Court ordered police to produce him in custody on the night of October 12, 2022. However, he was released before appearing in court. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it had not issued any instruction to release him.