The Japanese government on Thursday donated MVR 38 million worth of drug detection and testing equipment to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
Japan donated the items under an agreement signed with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in March 2023. The equipment will be used to test drugs smuggled by sea.
The Japanese Embassy said in a statement that the drug testing equipment will be used for drug identification, investigation and prosecution. The items were dedicated to preventing drug crimes in the fisheries sector and in Maldivian waters.
Japanese Ambassador Takeuchi Midori handed over the drug testing equipment to the Maldives at a ceremony held at Bandaarakoshi. Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi accepted the equipment on behalf of MNDF.
