Criminal Court sentenced 20 individuals to life imprisonment for drug trafficking offenses last year, Criminal Court statistics reveal.
The court handled 137 drug cases during 2024, which included cases referred to the drug court following confessions of drug use, as well as cases that were withdrawn by the prosecution.
Out of these cases, only seven were found to be unproven, meaning over 95 percent of the cases resulted in convictions.
In addition to the life sentences, the court also imposed fines totaling over MVR 10.2 million in connection with these drug related cases.
Seven other individuals were sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for various offenses.