Criminal Court has released the suspects related to a case involving 17 kilograms of illicit narcotic substances.
Local law enforcement nabbed the substances during a special operation in March, 2022.
Maldives Police Service had apprehended the items along with the suspects involved in peddling the items on 20th March from a pick-up truck after receiving relevant information from Maldives Customs Service.
According to Customs, the substances were smuggled into the island nation via air.
Authorities arrested two locals aged 27 and 32 and two Bangladeshi expatriates in suspicion of the case. All four were apprehended from the site of the pick-up truck from which the substances were discovered.
The expats claimed they were laborers who worked for hourly wages, and they had assisted the locals under similar conditions.
Criminal court had released the expats on Wednesday's remand hearing, while it was noted that the individuals have spent 30 days in remand without substantial evidence collected that would incriminate them.
Meanwhile the older local suspect had completed his remand duration, and it was uncertain what the court had decided regarding the future of his remand.
Police claims that they apprehended the locals while they were at the site to receive the narcotic substances, which was contested by the younger local who claims his presence in the crime scene was a coincidence, adding he was near the vicinity to meet with another individual.
On the other hand, Maldives Police Service adds that both suspects had several preceding cases involving narcotics.
Meanwhile, Maldives Customs affirms that the substances have been identified as hashish oil upon forensic analysis, the street value of which is estimated to be around MVR13.6 million.