Five individuals who were arrested during a drug operation in capital Malé City have been remanded.

Maldives Police Service (MPS)’s Drug Enforcement Department conducted the drug operation in collaboration with the Police Intelligence on February 13 where over two kilograms of narcotics were confiscated.

The drug operation was provoked by a tip-off and officers raided four residences in the capital city, a vehicle as well as a vessel docked at the North Harbor region.

Those arrested in connection to the drug bust are natives of Gan island in Laamu atoll Ahmed Shammoon, 30, Ahmed Husham, 26 and Mohamed Suaid, 23, as well as Fuvahmulah native Ismail Ifham Mohamed, 26, and Abdulla Saajiu, 23, native to Malé City.

The Criminal Court has remanded all five suspects by 15 days.

The case is currently under further investigation by the police Drug Enforcement Department.

The operation is part of the police’s wider efforts to curb drug trafficking and smuggling across the island nation.