The High Court of the Maldives has acquitted a Sri Lankan national, who had already served a one-year prison sentence for allegedly smuggling more than two kilograms of gold into the country.
The acquittal was delivered yesterday (28), exactly one year after the Criminal Court convicted and sentenced him on October 28, 2025, for smuggling goods into the Maldives.
The case dates back to September 21, 2023, when the Sri Lankan arrived at the Velana International Airport aboard a flight via Dubai. Customs officers stopped him as he attempted to exit through the Green Channel after discovering documents indicating that he had purchased gold in Dubai.
A subsequent inspection uncovered 2,282 grams of gold paste concealed in the front and back pockets of his jeans and inside his underwear.
He was charged with smuggling goods under Section 97(a) of the Maldives Customs Act and was subsequently convicted by the Criminal Court.
However, the High Court unanimously overturned the conviction, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish the essential legal elements of the alleged offence.
During the appeal proceedings, the court examined the scope of Section 97(a), which applies to prohibited goods, goods requiring special permits, or dutiable goods secretly imported with the intention of evading customs duties.
The prosecution had acknowledged that the gold in question was neither prohibited nor subject to customs duty.
Although the State argued that undeclared gold could be regarded as an unauthorised commodity, the High Court rejected the interpretation, holding that an act cannot be criminalised unless it is expressly defined as an offence by law.
The court referred to Article 59(a) of the Maldivian Constitution and relevant principles of criminal law, emphasising that undeclared goods cannot automatically be classified as prohibited goods.
The judges further determined that the indictment had failed to clearly establish the essential elements of the offence, as required under Article 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The Maldives High Court consequently ruled that the original conviction had violated Articles 51(h) and 59(a) of the Constitution and set aside the Criminal Court’s decision.
The three-judge bench comprised Mohamed Shaneez, Hussain Mazeed and Huzaifa Mohamed.
The ruling came after the Sri Lankan had completed the full sentence imposed by the lower court, meaning he spent one year in prison before the conviction was overturned on appeal.
– with Agencies inputs --
