Maldives Drug Epidemic: Bank Official's 35-Hour Protest Highlights Security Crisis, Calls for Urgent Reforms

The growing drug abuse epidemic in the Maldives has reached a critical point, with residents reporting drug users openly injecting substances in their doorways and disturbing public safety. This week’s 'Editors’ Roundtable' program highlighted the severe toll on communities and families, featuring a widely shared account of a senior Bank of Maldives official, Mohamed Saeed, who staged a 35-hour hunger strike after his repeated complaints to police about drug users near his home were ignored. Another resident, identified as Ali Thuththu on social media, described how he had to call police to escort his young child to school after finding two intoxicated individuals injecting drugs in their lane at midday. His seven-year-old son asked, 'Daddy, is that a vaccine? They are injecting themselves.' Such incidents have left many parents too afraid to let their children walk to school or the mosque. The program pointed out systemic failures: existing laws require drug users to consent before being sent to rehabilitation, and police face legal hurdles in prosecuting even repeat offenders. The editors called for urgent legal reforms to enable mandatory treatment for chronic offenders, the creation of joint intervention teams combining police and health services, and expanded rehabilitation capacity with ongoing monitoring and job market integration. 'The state’s primary duty is to ensure every Maldivian child can walk safely through their own lane to school without fear,' the article stated. 'The time for a solution is now.'