Seized sea cucumber worth MVR 2 million to be auctioned: Police

The police stated today that the announcement to sell a quantity of sea cucumbers held in their custody via auction was made upon the advice of the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office.

According to the police, these sea cucumbers were taken into custody following a case filed on December 31, alleging that they were being embezzled and hidden after being moved from a warehouse in Thilafushi. The police noted that these items are valued at MVR two million.

The allegations in the case suggest that the items were moved to another location on December 29 of last December by deceiving the owner through fraud and misrepresentation. The police stated that the items had been brought from Thilafushi to Malé and stored in two houses.

Following a search of these two houses under a court order, the sea cucumbers were taken into police custody.

The total weight of the items taken into police custody was 1,438 kg. This includes 787.35 kg of sea cucumbers that are prohibited from being exported from the Maldives.

Further investigation into the case revealed that the parties involved in this trade were not authorized to process sea cucumbers under the "Regulation on Organizing and Managing Sea Cucumber Fisheries."

After the items were taken into police custody, both the complainant and the accused claimed ownership of the items when questioned by the police.

Since some of the items held by the police were already damaged and there was a possibility of further deterioration, the police sought legal advice from the Prosecutor General’s Office on how to proceed.

According to the police, the advice provided by the PG Office stated that under the "Regulation on Prosecution Procedures," items can only be returned if the rightful owner is clearly identified.

However, since a dispute over ownership has arisen in this case and the true owner has not been determined, the PG Office stated that there is currently no legal basis to return the goods.

Therefore, the PG advised that items which appear likely to lose their original quality or perish should be sold through an auction in a competitive market, and the proceeds should be kept under police custody until the conclusion of the investigation or trial.

The police stated that the PG Office also advised that once the case is resolved, the funds held would be released as compensation to the party determined to be the owner of the goods.

The police noted that the suspect in this case filed a matter with the Criminal Court on the 26th of last month, seeking the return of the goods held in police custody.

However, the police said the court ruled that there is no legal obstacle to keeping the goods under police custody as stated in the Criminal Procedure Act. The court also stated that there were no grounds to issue the order requested by the suspect. In an announcement made yesterday, the police stated that they wish to sell eight varieties of sea cucumber at auction.

The announcement specified that the minimum starting price for each variety is MVR 300 per kilogram.