News Desk
MALE’ — President Dr Mohamed Muizzu said on Friday that when he took office two and a half years ago, the police service had serious internal problems in its drug enforcement operations, including seized narcotics finding their way back into circulation, and that those problems have since been addressed.
Speaking on the third episode of The Pulse, a podcast series in which the President discusses government work on issues of public concern, President Muizzu said significant steps have been taken to strengthen the police institution and remove what he described as unwanted influences within drug enforcement.
“When I first came and looked, there were negative influences within the police in drug enforcement. For example, drugs seized in raids were going back into the community,” he said. “Those gaps have been closed. You will not hear now of such things happening within the police.”
The President said gang-related crime has been significantly reduced and noted that no one has been killed in gang violence during the current period, describing it as an achievement.
President Muizzu framed the drug problem as one requiring a whole-of-society response, involving all government institutions and the public working together. He said the government’s broader approach goes beyond enforcement and focuses on rehabilitation, addressing root causes such as housing, unemployment and lack of opportunity, and building a community-based system grounded in Islamic principles that gives recovering individuals a genuine path back into society rather than cycling them through the system repeatedly.
He also said a site at Uthuru Thilafalhu has been identified for a new rehabilitation facility, and that proposals for the project are being evaluated with construction expected to begin soon.
