Maldives approves death penalty for drug trafficking
President Muizzu ratifies amendments introducing capital punishment and lifetime imprisonment for major narcotics cases, expanding police powers nationwide
MALE, Maldives (MNTV) — The Maldives has passed sweeping legal reforms introducing the death penalty for drug trafficking for the first time in the country’s history, after President Dr Mohamed Muizzu ratified major amendments to the Drugs Act, transforming the country’s criminal justice framework around narcotics offenses.
The amendments, which were approved by Parliament last week and will take effect in three months, introduce capital punishment for trafficking Schedule 1 substances above newly defined thresholds: more than 350 grams of cannabis, 250 grams of heroin, or 100 grams of other Schedule 1 narcotics.
Previously, the Drugs Act prescribed 25 years to life imprisonment and fines between 100,000 Maldivian rufiyaa ($6,490) and 10 million Maldivian rufiyaa ($649,000) for trafficking offenses.
Under the new legislation, life sentences will apply for the remainder of a convict’s natural life, while offenses carrying death or life penalties are explicitly ineligible for clemency, parole, or plea deals.
The amendments also require unanimous approval of a full Supreme Court bench before a death sentence can be carried out, mandating full judicial review of conviction and case conditions.
The reform package introduces new offenses, including facilitating drug use, enabling narcotics consumption through services or premises, and holding landlords, tenants, caretakers and operators liable if they knowingly allow drug activity. It also criminalizes financing of the drug trade.
Additional provisions expand operational jurisdictions of the Drug Court and its treatment programs and include new structures for regulating emerging synthetic substances, revising seizure and confiscation procedures for criminal assets, and strengthening coordination between police, prosecution and judicial authorities.
The legislation grants law-enforcement agencies broader authority to seize vehicles and vessels used in trafficking, shut down establishments enabling drug supply, and conduct enhanced operations targeting drug networks across the archipelago.
The Muizzu administration has described narcotics control as a national security priority amid increasing regional concerns surrounding Indian Ocean trafficking routes linking South Asia, East Africa and Southeast Asia — a corridor identified by multiple international agencies as one of the world’s fastest-expanding narco-smuggling networks.
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