Ex-football star was not arrested with drugs, lawyers say

Lawyers for former national football star Shamweel Qasim (Bonda) have denied that he was arrested with drugs in a police operation yesterday in Addu City.

Police arrested a number of individuals in yesterday’s operation, including Shamweel. Some media outlets have reported that Shamweel was arrested with “a lot of drugs”.

His lawyer, Ibrahim Shameel said on Twitter that Shamweel was not in possession of drugs when he was arrested. 

“Shamweel was arrested in Hithadhoo. When he was arrested, no drugs were found in his possession or anywhere with links to him.” Said the attorney.

Police seized more than 80kg of drugs en route to Addu City yesterday. An individual dubbed as a drug kingpin was also arrested in relation to the bust. The individual arrested, named Abdulla Ibrahim, has a long history of criminal activity. 

Some people who spoke from Addu City denied that Shamweel was arrested at sea, but from within the island. Allegations of criminal activity made towards Shamweel remains unclear.