A suspected drug lord has been re-arrested by the police after he was denied entry into Sri Lanka.
Ali Anwar Mohamed, 41, was recently released by the Criminal Court due to errors from the police.
He was re-arrested on charges of possession and trafficking in drugs. He left for Sri Lanka following his release from court.
Ali Anwar was first arrested on October 11 under a court order. He was initially remanded in custody for five days, but was released on October 18 when summoned for a remand extension.
He was released on the grounds that the police could not tell him the basis on which the arrest was made.
The police told the court that they forced their way into the apartment because Ali Anwar did not have the keys. They recovered his passport, 16 grams of drugs and a scale used to weigh drugs.
When questioned at the crime scene about the scale, he told the police that it was used to weigh ingredients during cooking.
However, he later told the court that the apartment was not connected to him.
He was re-arrested and summoned to court yesterday. The court decided to remand him for 30 days.
Police and the military seized drugs connected to Anwar Ali and several others in 2019 during a joint operation at sea.
An Iranian vessel carrying the drugs was intercepted near Haa Alif Thuraakunu island.
The Prosecutor General's (PG) Office previously withdrew charges against everyone except Anwar in connection to the case.
