News Desk
The Criminal court has sentenced a Pakistani national to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of smuggling more than five kilograms of narcotics into the country by air.
Abdul Latif Baloch was arrested at Velana International Airport after customs officers flagged irregularities in his checked luggage. He had arrived on a Qatar Airways flight and proceeded through the red‑channel inspection area, where officers noticed that although two bags had been checked under his name, he collected only one.
Customs officials escorted him back to the baggage belt, retrieved the second bag and subjected it to scanning. The inspection revealed two sealed packages containing a total of 5,000 grams of dimorphine, a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
Baloch denied ownership of the bag, insisting it did not belong to him. Prosecutors, however, presented evidence showing that the luggage tag bore his name and matched his boarding records. The court ruled that the drugs had been brought into the Maldives with his knowledge and intent.
In its judgment, the Criminal Court held that the prosecution had established criminal intent beyond reasonable doubt. The court noted that the bag had been deliberately left on the belt, but the tag identifying Baloch as the passenger was decisive.
He was convicted of trafficking a Schedule 1 drug and handed a life sentence, defined in Maldivian law as 25 years’ imprisonment. Baloch has already spent one year, 11 months and 10 days in custody, leaving a remaining term of 23 years and 20 days.
Authorities said he had previously smuggled drugs into the Maldives and was believed to be acting in concert with others. The court also ordered him to pay a fine of MVR 2 million within 12 months.
