A Canadian national arrested for drug possession at a guesthouse in B. Maalhos was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Maldivian courts.[1] Scott William Armstrong was arrested from his beachside hotel room in Maalhos on 21 July 2019 after a report that he was selling drugs there.[2] Police searched his guesthouse room in July 2019 under a warrant obtained on a tip-off and discovered illegal drugs.[1] He was charged with cannabis trafficking under Articles 108 and 138 of the Drug Act.[2] He pleaded not guilty but was convicted on the police evidence.[1] The court found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt on the prosecution evidence.[2]

He surrendered two pieces of cannabis weighing 26.76 grams kept in a container in the room’s minibar.[2] Police also found another piece of cannabis weighing 0.12 grams in a container inside his luggage.[2] The court imposed a life term of 25 years and ordered him to pay MVR 100,000 within a year.[2] Five months and nine days spent in detention were counted as time served, leaving 24 years, six months and 21 days to serve.[2]

Under Maldivian law, more than 14 grams of cannabis found on a drug addict is treated as intent to sell.[2] Prosecutors said he stayed alone in a locked room and showed police himself where the drugs were hidden.[2] The defence said other people, including hotel staff, could also enter the room where the drugs were found.[3]