A plea agreement has been reached with three of the five prison officers arrested on August 23 and charged with supplying cell phones, drugs and other equipment to inmates in Maafushi Prison.

The plea agreement was made with Ali Nazim, Mohamed Fathooh Fathuhullah and Ali Asfaaq. They were charged with abuse of official position and unjust enrichment.

The case is being heard by Judge Ismail Shafeeu.

The remaining two officers charged in the case have not yet entered into a plea agreement.

Thirteen prison officers accused of supplying phones, drugs and other items to inmates were arrested on August 10.

The Prosecutor General's (PG) Office decided to press charges against five of them while the remaining eight were freed due to lack of evidence.

Home Minister Ali Ihusan earlier said that MVR 73.3 million had been deposited into prison officers' accounts last year alone.

He added that MVR 24 million was deposited to one officer's account within one year and the money was deposited in small amounts on various occasions.