Foreigner gets 12 years for smuggling 83 bullets containing drugs by ingesting

Criminal Court sentenced a South African man to 12 years and six months in jail for smuggling 83 bullets containing drugs by ingesting them.

The man was charged with drug trafficking upon being discovered to have been concealing drugs inside his body, when he had traveled from Qatar to Maldives on June 17.

Summary of the charge against the man read that he had admitted to concealing drugs inside his body at the airport, detailing to the police at that time he had ingested 80 bullets containing drugs.

In the presence of Customs staff, the man had excreted on two occasions, following which 20 bullets were retrieved from his stool. When he was handed over to police, the man was taken to Hulhumale’ Hospital for a scan, which indicated foreign bodies inside his body.

The man agreed to voluntarily expel the bullets, which the doctor advised could be achieved. Therewith, police officers had then accompanied him to the guesthouse where he had made bookings for his accommodation.

As per the summary, he excreted 12 times in the duration of 24 hours – with 83 bullets containing 896.087 grams of cocaine being retrieved from his stool.

The man pled guilty to the charge against him during the preliminary hearing of his trial. With the case fast-tracked – presiding Judge Ismail Shafeeu had concluded at the next hearing to sentence him to 12 years and six months in prison, and impose a fine of MVR 100,000.

The man was provided legal assistance from a state-appointed attorney during his trial, for having lacked the capacity to appoint one on his own.