More than 500 Ecstasy tablets have been confiscated from a parcel sent to southern Addu City from the Netherlands, with customs saying it was one of the largest ‘party drug’ hauls of its kind.
Spokesman Ahmed Niyaz told the Maldives Independent the package first went to the capital’s post office before it went to Gan.
“Customs officials from Malé had doubts about the package and asked officials in Gan to open it. The package was opened by the officials in front of the recipient,” he said.
The recipient, a 23-year-old female, has been arrested for further investigation, Niyaz said. He said the haul weighed a total of 244.06 grams.
“We have never confiscated such a high amount. We have found 30-50 pills including ecstasy and sometimes LSD. Party drugs are found more often when it is trending,” he said. He could not give a street value of the drugs.
Police spokesman Ahmed Shifan told the Maldives Independent their lab was still conducting tests to confirm the type of drug. He said police could only confirm or comment once their tests had been completed.
Home Minister Azleen Ahmed told Sun Online last month the police had discovered a new party drug being sold in the Maldives that could be dangerous in lethal doses.
Heroin and hashish oil are the most commonly used drugs in the Maldives, but LSD, ecstasy and other synthetic drugs have been found in recent years.
In March, local actor Ali Ahmed ‘Ayya’ was found dead in a house in the Henveiru ward of Malé after an overdose. Prior to his death, he was charged with smuggling drugs into the country.
In October last year, a Bangladeshi man was caught smuggling a new synthetic drug called “flakka” in a joint operation conducted by the police and the Maldives Customs Service. It was the first time flakka was discovered in the Maldives.
Up to June, five kilos of drugs have been seized including 1.3 kg of cannabis and 2.8 kg of heroin, say customs.
They have urged the public to carry prescriptions if importing medicine in luggage.
