Nepalese Woman Detained on Drug Trafficking Charges Remanded for 30 Days

The Criminal Court has extended the remand of a 21-year-old Nepalese woman, Nisha Raai, for an additional 30 days following her arrest on suspicion of drug trafficking. Raai was apprehended on December 17 after police discovered trafficking-level quantities of drugs in her apartment in Male’. Authorities also recovered equipment used for weighing and sealing drugs. According to the remand order, police found 230 grams of cannabis and 141 grams of heroin in her residence. Raai initially requested to appoint her own lawyer but later sought state-appointed counsel during her recent court appearance. Three Maldivian men—Hassan Anas, 22, Moosa Shaheem, 22, and Hussain Sharwan, 25—have also been arrested in connection with the case. The Maldives, home to a significant foreign population, including many irregular migrants, is intensifying efforts to register and regularize undocumented individuals.