November 13, Colombo (LNW): A Maldivian court on Wednesday (12) ordered that five Sri Lankan nationals be held in custody until the conclusion of their trial, following the discovery of an enormous consignment of narcotics on a Sri Lankan fishing vessel intercepted within Maldivian waters last week.
Authorities revealed that the vessel, identified as Avishka Putha, had illegally entered the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone before being searched under a court warrant. The operation led to the recovery of more than 350 kilograms of illegal drugs — the largest such haul reported in the Maldives in recent years.
The five crew members, who appeared before the Criminal Court, pleaded not guilty to the trafficking charges. However, the court ruled that the scale of the operation and the suspected involvement of a wider criminal network warranted their continued detention until the end of legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan authorities have dispatched a specialist team to the Maldives to assist in the ongoing cross-border investigation. The probe is being jointly carried out by the Maldives Police Service, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), the Sri Lankan Police, and the Sri Lankan Navy.
Officials from both nations have pledged close cooperation to uncover the full extent of the smuggling network, which is believed to span multiple countries across the Indian Ocean.
