MP Jabir acquitted of cannabis charge after Hondaidhoo raid
MP Abdulla Jabir was acquitted of cannabis possession in February 2014 after a November 2012 police raid on Hondaidhoo island netted ten people including two MPs; he was however serving a one-year jail term for refusing a urine drug test, and was pardoned in July 2014.
Police arrested ten people on the night of 15 November 2012 during a special
operation on Hondaidhoo island, searching it with a court warrant and
reporting large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol.[1]Those held
included Jumhooree Party MP Abdulla Jabir, Maldivian Democratic Party MP
Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, former SAARC secretary general Ibrahim Hussain Zaki,
former press secretary Mohamed Zuhair with his wife Mariam Faiz, resort
manager Jadhulla Jaleel, Zaki’s son Hamdan Zaki, two Sri Lankans and a
Bangladeshi.[1]A police sub-inspector told Haveeru the suspects were held
with alcohol and hash oil, and all but Hamdan Zaki were later released by the
Kulhudhufushi magistrate court.[1]
Seven suspects including both MPs were charged, and on 20 February 2014 the
Criminal Court sentenced Jabir to twelve months under the Drug Act for
refusing to provide a urine sample for a drug test.[2][3]A week later the
same court acquitted Jabir of possessing cannabis on the island, ruling there
was not enough evidence that he held cannabis when detained.[3]Jabir
remained in Male jail on the refusal conviction and was still facing the
alcohol trial linked to the raid.[3]
Pardon
In July 2014 President Abdulla Yameen pardoned Jabir under the Clemency Act
while he served the one-year term.[4]By then Jabir had run for his
Kaashidhoo seat from jail and lost, spent three months in Malaysia on medical
release, and been re-jailed on 10 July, the day he and Hamid were acquitted
of the alcohol charges.[4]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The November 2012 report places the island in Haa Dhaalu Atoll while later reports say Haa Alifu Atoll; the government's atoll list puts Hondaidhoo, leased to Yacht Tours, in Haa Dhaalu.
No quantity for the suspected drugs or the hash oil police reported finding was published.
The alcohol-possession trial arising from the same raid was still under way when the cannabis acquittal was reported.
The MDP called the arrests politically motivated and alleged police brutality, which police denied; the Police Integrity Commission confirmed Jabir was mistreated but could not identify the officer.
The Criminal Court sentenced Abdulla Faseeh to 50 years and a MVR 200,000 fine on 1 October 2026 on two trafficking counts. He had been stopped at Velana airport on 7 October 2024 with 252.17 g of cannabis and 23.60 g of diamorphine taped to his legs before a domestic flight; the court imposed life on each count, calculated at 25 years, and the terms added up to 50 years.
Customs found 3,345 grams of cannabis in the luggage of two Indian nationals arriving at Gan International Airport on 22 September 2026; police then arrested the pair plus a Maldivian recipient in a controlled delivery. Three suspects were held for smuggling more than three kilogrammes of drugs.
On 10 September 2026 the Criminal Court sentenced Mohamed Shareef of GDh. Vaadhoo to 25 years in prison and a MVR 100,000 fine for trafficking cannabis found in June 2020 at an Ensis Fisheries accommodation block in Hulhumalé. After remand credit he has 23 years and six months left to serve; a co-accused's case remained undecided.
The Fuvahmulah City Magistrate Court ordered a drug café at Gulisthanuge closed for 85 days, the first such closure outside Malé. Police said anyone entering the property during the order would commit an offence and promised the strictest action for trespass or damage. The Criminal Court had closed drug cafés in the capital before; this order came from a magistrate court on Fuvahmulah.