Maldives Police Service has said that they gave seized 19kgs of drugs and shut down 5 drug cartels so far this year.

Addressing a press conference at Iskandhar Koshi on Sunday, Acting Head of Crime Investigation Command Ahmed Nafiz said two of the five cartels were shut down last month.

Nafizs said 3,686 people have been raided so far this year, 260 Maldivians and 16 foreigners have been arrested with drugs during drug operations conducted by the police.

He said 61 Maldivians and 55 foreigners have also been arrested so far this year.

Nafiz said the total weight of the contraband seized so far this year was 19,220 grams.

"In terms of weight, it is 19,220 grams, which is about 19 kg of drugs that we have seized from the police. If you look at its street value, it has a value of MVR 104.5 million," he said.

Nafiz added that so far this year, 257 drug-related cases have been investigated and 95 cases have been sent for prosecution.