The Criminal Court has sentenced a man to 25 years in prison for cannabis trafficking.

The ruling was delivered against Mohamed Shareef, Asrafee, GDh. Vaadhoo.

The State prosecuted him for cannabis trafficking after police received intelligence that Mohamed Shareef, in collusion with others, was engaged in drug trafficking in the Maldives. Acting on a court warrant, police arrested Shareef and another individual, and discovered a large quantity of cannabis during a search of their accommodation block conducted in their presence.

Upon reviewing the evidence submitted to the court, Mohamed Shareef was found guilty of cannabis trafficking and sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment. Additionally, he was fined MVR 100,000, which the court ordered to be paid to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) within 12 months.

Since he had already spent one year, five months, and eight days in remand custody prior to sentencing, the court ruled that this period would be deducted from his prison term, leaving him to serve a remaining sentence of 23 years, 6 months, and 22 days.