Criminal Court Sentences Immigration Officer in Extortion Case After Guilty Plea

The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced Hassan Saheshan to a light sentence after he pleaded guilty to extorting money from a foreign national who had been taken into immigration custody.

Prosecutors had charged Saheshan with participating in abuse of official position and robbery. However, under a plea agreement reached with the prosecution, the charge relating to abuse of official position was withdrawn. Saheshan pleaded guilty during the evidentiary hearing, after which the court accepted the agreement and ruled the case to be expedited.

In accordance with the agreement, Saheshan was sentenced to two months and three days in prison and fined MVR 61,000. The court ruled that he would not serve any additional jail time, as the period he spent in custody during the investigation phase was deducted from the sentence.

Saheshan was among five immigration officers arrested in connection with the case. Officer Ibrahim Ahmed was sentenced to 11 months in prison, while immigration officer Ahmed Lassan received a nine-month sentence. Officer Mohammed Alsan Ismail was sentenced to two months in jail.

The prosecution alleged that, following the release of a foreign national from custody, the officers extorted more than MVR 500,000, which investigators said was taken to the residence of the then Commissioner of Prisons, Shamman.

According to police, the operation was carried out by immigration employees who were not part of the Immigration Task Force and Risk Management division, which is responsible for monitoring illegal immigration. Investigators found that the officers intercepted the foreign national on the street and later delivered the extorted funds to Shamman’s building. Shamman is currently standing trial, although he was released from custody in December last year.