National Drug Agency (NDA) Chairperson Lubna Zahir has said that the structure of rehab centers will be changed and a priority will be given to increase capacity this year.

She said the biggest challenge to NDA's work is the fact that the rehabilitation center has remained unchanged since it was first built in 1997.

Noting that the Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DTRC) has a capacity of 205 people, Lubna said this is a small figure compared to the number of addicts.

"The rehab center is a very old building and there has been no change in the structure in the last 10 or 15 years. That's the same building which was constructed in 1997," she said.

NDA and police launched a special operation on October 22, 2024, to help drug addicts begin rehabilitation and treatment programs.

Under the operation, addicts detained for various crimes, begging on the streets and sleeping in mosques in Male' are taken into police custody and transferred to the Drug Offenders' Remand Centres.

Such centres in the Maldives are located in Kaafu Himmafushi and Hulhumale'.