For once President Gayyoom seems to be sticking to his promise to make the Maldives a drug-free zone. Seems - mind you; it's not certain though.
It's been almost two months since Gayyoom publicly vowed to put a stop to the influx of drugs into the Maldives. Within this period there has been several large drug busts - mostly carriers of heroin flying in from neighbouring Colombo, Trivandrum and Karachi. The safes inside the Maldives Police Services - or wherever they may be storing this bonanza - is likely to be filled to capacity at present.
According to news reports, during this week almost two tonnes of drugs have been found stored underwater. This bit of sleuthing was not the work of the police though. Some locals from Dhiffushi Island in Male' Atoll discovered this well hidden cache by chance and informed the authorities. As envisaged this shipment too has ended up somewhere inside the Maldives Police Services.
At the begining of the campaign to make the Maldives a drug free zone Commissioner of Police Brigadier Adam Zahir directed his attack at the youth who rule the streets of Male' with box cutters and flick knives. Even though this lot - known as the 'parteys' - were uprooted from the streets and dumped inside the jails it did little to stop the flow of drugs on the streets. The supply of heroin continued unabated. With the jails filled to capacity, the authorities were faced with a major problem. Violence and police brutality became the common denominator. The local papers homed in on the issues of police brutality, ultimately forcing Gayyoom to release some of the parteys. Gayyoom simply did not have the capacity inside his jails to keep street demonstrators, news reporters and other undesirables locked up.
Just three days back the supply of drugs in the capital mysteriously stopped. Addicts, driven by the craving for heroin could be seen lined up at different spots all over the capital, with scant regard for the police vehicles that cruised by. The Vavathi Tight was in effect with full force. At this point the readers may wonder about the meaning of the word 'Vavathi'. Vavathi is simply the name of the Police Commissioner Adam Zahir's home. Since none of the wholesale dealers in the capital had gotten busted, analysts assumed that the major supplier had simply tightened the control of supply. Thus it was named the Vavathi Tight.
In most countries drugs confiscated by the police are burned publicly. In the Maldives, this happens rarely. And even on the rare occasion it does happen there is no independent authority to do a substance check of the drugs that are burnt. Furthermore, there is no independent accounting of the drugs confiscated by the police. The police are free to do whatever they please; no system of checks and balances exist as yet. Sad, but true. The end result: a nation of morally bankrupt youth, jobless and simply existing without any direction in life and an all powerful snake-charming Police Commissioner with the mind of a Mafia don.
At this point one may well ask the question. It is certainly not in the interests of the authorities to put a stop to the traffic in heroin. Since it keeps the most dangerous segment of the society - the youth - from becoming politically active why should a proven dictator of Gayyoom's calibre wish to clean up this lot and help find them a direction in life to become productive members of society? They are certain to hate Gayyoom for having destroyed their youth and stripped them of all dignity. The answer is actually quite simple. There are courageous members active in the media, brave enough to call a spade a spade and they have forced Gayyoom's hands. Today President Gayyoom's political survival is dependent on appeasing the enraged masses.
Just today, to top it all, rumours - not proven as yet - abound, about yet another hidden cache. This time it was supposed to have been found in an undersea secret spot near Dhonakulhi Island, a yatch marina. The investment was just recently sold by President Gayyoom's son Farish to foreign interests. Analysts have begun to wonder about the extent of President Gayyoom's involvement in the traffic in the drug trade. It has become quite obvious that Maldives is a transhipment point for drug traffic into Europe and the West in general. The quantities found is simply too large for consumption for the local market. The hidden hands or rather the local agents are without question people in the upper brackets of power in the Maldivian government.
What may happen tomorrow is anyone's guess. Since President Gayyoom is desperately in need of cash to fund his failing dictatorship anything is possible. He may even decide to export his recently confiscated supply of drugs to the West where kaffirs abound in plenty. Will Interpol stand by and simply watch a tin-pot dictator of Gayyoom's calibre play the kind of games played by Colombian drug barons?
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