Indian man caught smuggling gold into Maldives escapes jail time

An Indian man who tried to smuggle gold into the Maldives has been let go with just a fine.

An Indian man named Akshay Kumar who came to the Maldives on July 19th was scanned by Maldives Customs due to suspicious behavior when they realized he had hidden some items inside his body. Upon further assessment, authorities found out that it was two gold bullets.

Akshay Kumar had confessed to the crime upon detention and entered a plea agreement with the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The presiding judge had accepted his plea deal and was lenient in his verdict. Since he was found guilty of the “offense of smuggling” under the Customs Act, the man was fined MVR 60,000 and the smuggled items were ordered to be confiscated by the state. The court ordered for the fine to be paid 5 days from 18th September.

According to the Maldives Customs Act, without a plea agreement, he would have had to endure a jail sentence lasting between 6 months and 2 years.

The number of Indians perpetrating crimes of varying degrees has been increasing and the number of people being released without punishment is on the rise.