Drugs discovered in luggage: Suspects claim unaware of content

Two Indian nationals arrested at Velana International Airport last week for attempting to smuggle drugs into the Maldives have claimed in court that they were unaware of the presence of narcotics in their luggage.

The suspects have been identified as Jainab Wajih Ali, 25 and Mohamed Navaz Dhayathar, 21.

According to the Police, the two Indian nationals, who are suspected of attempting to smuggle over one kilo of drugs into the Maldives, were handed over to the authority by Maldives Customs Service. They were subsequently remanded in custody for five days.

Following the expiration of the five-day remand period, the court has now extended their remand until April 9^th.

The remand order indicates that both individuals maintained during the investigation that they had no prior knowledge of any drugs being stored in their luggage. However, the Police has previously confirmed the seizure of three bottles containing a total of 1.83 kilograms of hashish oil from their bags.

The 1.83 kilograms of drugs seized meet the legal threshold for drug trafficking. If convicted, both suspects face life imprisonment.

This case follows a recent ruling in which a Bangladeshi national was sentenced to life imprisonment earlier this week in a similar drug trafficking case.