Diplomatic Car in Male’ Liquor Trade

According to the Ministry of Transport and Communication, license plates for vehicles owned and operated by foreign ambassadors and their embassy staff contains the initials “CD” and a (maximum) four-digit number. The registration number is in white on a blue field.

Last Friday, I was at a coffee with some of my friends, when they gave a call to a foreign expatriate working in Male’ to get 02 bottles of liquor, they were told to come to a particular location in Maafannu to collect it. I was with them when they went to collect it and was very stunned when I saw the license plate of the car that came to deliver 02 bottles of Smirnoff Vodka. The driver got down, opened the rear door and unzipped a brown leather bag and took out the 02 bottles, he sold each bottle at Mrf 500/-.

This certainly is a challenge for the Maldives Police Service in their recently initiated operation in seizing the liquor trade in Male’. One of the hurdles is that the Police are not authorized to stop or screen vehicles owned and operated by foreign ambassadors, the Police also requires obtaining prior permission to enter the premises of any foreign embassy from its parent Government. This makes it even more difficult for the Police to shutdown such a type of liquor trade in Male’.

On May 25, 2008, Police confiscated 110 bottles of liquor and two beer cases from a rented room at G.Mahumaage. In another incident on May 27, 2008, Police arrested two locals who were caught red-handed while stocking alcohol bottles from a taxi to H.Fruit Garden, located behind the old Voice of Maldives building. Police claim they confiscated 66 unopened bottles, 22 half empty bottles, and 64 empty bottles during the raid.

This issue is of no concern for the MNDF, thus, a unit from the Maldives Government is required to investigate the status of this activity at the current stage.

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Published:: 5 June, 2008 / 3:13 am

Category:: Crime

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This website is in loving memory of Shaheed Hussain Adam who will forever be a constant glow of love streaming from our hearts. He is survived by his adoring mother and father, and a supportive array of friends. He will be remembered for his bright smile, his gentle touch, his supportive ear, his intuitive knowledge, his contagious sense of humor, his adventurous ways, and the beautiful love that poured from him to all his family and friends. He will be missed dearly but known that he is always with us.

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DhivExercise 6.5.08 / 4am

How about u ease that hurdle by giving info of ur friends’ (who bought the liquor) to the police and it will help produce some form of action against the diplomats through foreign ministry. Hey in fact u were there when all this happened and didn’t stop the crime, but ur only concern was the diplomat plate flashing car, not ur boozing friends….shame on you!!

Ibrahim Faisal 6.5.08 / 4am

DhivExercise: You are right, I was wanting someone to ask me that.

NOW, Can I tell some Europeans not to booze, its different telling a Maldivian and a foreigner, ESPECIALLY when they finish consuming their allocated quota on alcoholic beverages permitted to them.

This is how as a reader you have responded, it’s not only you, its how we all Maldivians conclude.

DhivExercise 6.5.08 / 6am

Yea…maybe I missed the part in ur article when u mentioned ur friends were Europeans buying booze on the black market. If you think those in the diplomatic car committed a criminal act, and in ur face…have u brought that to the attention of the concerned authorities? I’m just hoping that u did.
The stereotypical comment aimed at all Maldivians at the end of ur comment shows how shallow u think of them.

Ibrahim Faisal 6.5.08 / 8pm

DhivExercise: You can answer it yourself, would you bring the issue to the attention of the concerned authorities? I doubt…

Yes, the stereotypical comment is aimed to all of us, including myself too.

Gryskó 6.6.08 / 12pm

Even if i were in the situation, i would rather ingore and would nt even care to report.

soldier 6.7.08 / 8am

If you don’t have the guts to report, at least you should go away from the situation and should not be party to a crime. When your european friednds called someone for liquor you should know its comming from a wrong chanell. You should at least tell them or remind them of the law. What if it were a more serious crime, lets say a case of fraud, counterfeiting or perhaps a crime with direct victims (robbery). Would you then report?
The challenge to the police is not diplomats are selling liquor, the bigger challenge is people like you will not take your civic responsibility. Now that you have confessed to being party to a crime, the police should track who the Ibrahim Faisal running this blog is and question you about the illegal liquor trade in the Maldives.

golhabo 6.8.08 / 9am

Crysko: a typical democratized citizen. wow, great! and the author witnesses this incident and rather than reporting, posts on the internet. hehe… so maldivian. pakaaas

Ibrahim Faisal 6.9.08 / 3am

soldier: These people are permitted to have a certain quota of liquor every month, besides when they run out of it, their friends pass them some amounts of it on FOC basis, I only knew what happened after they purchased it, in fact I told them that it is totally illegal to buy it just like that, if they wanted to drink, they could have gone to HIH or a resort during the week-end.

The way you understood the whole article, its like I was the guy who cashed for both the bottles, right? I have already explained you the challenging role for the Police in this situation, searching me and asking me where it came from will not help them or you, as long as the Police is not allowed inside the High Commission.

One more thing, you can be a good friend until your friend break the law, and the minute they do that, you stab them behind the back, extremely Maldives…hehehe…

baa 6.9.08 / 4pm

soldier: haadha thedhuveri meehekey dho thee, kaley rattesseh golhi akah wattaalan ewwes haaheh nuwaane thaa dhoo? pakaaaaas…thikahala rattehin nulibuneeyaa rangalhee…

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Diplomatic Car in Male’ Liquor Trade

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