High Court Overturns Sri Lankan National’s Gold Smuggling Conviction on Final Day of Prison Sentence

The High Court of the Maldives has overturned the conviction of a Sri Lankan national convicted of smuggling gold into the country, ruling that his original conviction was unlawful on the very day his one-year prison term concluded.

The appellant, Mohamed Sulaimhan, had been convicted by the Criminal Court on 28 October 2025 on charges of attempting to smuggle two kilograms of gold concealed inside his body. The lower court sentenced him to one year of imprisonment.

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Sulaimhan’s prison sentence formally ended on Wednesday. It was revealed that while the appeal proceedings were actively pending before the High Court, the Maldives Immigration authorities had also attempted to execute his deportation from the country.

Delivering its judgment on Wednesday, the High Court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the legal elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt under Section 97(a) of the Customs Act. The court determined that the state had not demonstrated whether the goods required prior authorization, whether import duty was legally applicable, or that the appellant possessed the specific intent to evade customs duty.

Consequently, the High Court ruled that Sulaimhan’s conviction by the lower court had not been conducted in accordance with constitutional requirements and statutory safeguards, declaring the initial conviction void.

The judgment comes amid growing public criticism over procedural delays in the Maldivian judicial system, where prolonged appellate reviews often result in individuals completing custodial terms before lower-court verdicts can be corrected or overturned.

Sulaimhan had completed his custodial term by the time of the verdict, with the Maldives Correctional Service escorting him to the High Court after finalizing his formal prison release procedures.