Pristine islands apart, unhindered drug availability also attracts tourists to Maldives

Mumbai: Tourism trouble is not the only serious issue the Maldives needs to tackle following derogatory comments by some of the island nation’s ministers against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The country is also struggling to control the easy availability of drugs which has forced a large percentage of its youth population into substance abuse.

Besides, the archipelago has also been a chosen destination for tourists who want to consume narcotics without any trouble while on holiday. Moreover, it is also a popular transshipment destination for narcotics traffickers who smuggle drugs via sea route.

According to the figures available, a large percentage of the youth population in the island nation has been consuming drugs. Statistics show that the majority of the drug abusers in Maldives are between 16 and 30 years old. This seems to be a big problem as the total population of the country is merely around 5.2 lakh comprising over 35 percent young people in the age group of 15 to 35 years.

“This is a serious problem for the government there and the main drugs used are heroin and hashish,” said an officer from an anti-narcotics agency in India, who has been keeping updates on the narcotics smuggling and consumption patterns in neighboring countries.

Besides this, sources said that the ‘one island one resort’ concept has also been giving privacy to tourists who like to consume drugs freely while on holidays. Maldives consists of 1190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 27 atolls situated in the Indian Ocean. The country covers an area of around 90,000 square km of which only 298 square km is dry land.Of the total, Maldives has about 200 inhabited islands with around 164 developed as tourist resorts.

“This kind of privacy had made Maldives a chosen destination for celebrities and also for those intending to have drug or rave parties,” said the officer. He added those visiting the destination for rave parties prefer drugs like cocaine and ecstasy.

A travel agent requesting not to be quoted said there are only two ways to access the islands where tourists stay in resorts. “These are speed boats and seaplanes. And these can be seen from a distance which means there is no possibility of surprise checks,” he said.

He questioned, why is it that an over-priced destination like Maldivesis a preferred holiday place for certain tourists.“Is it because of easy access to drugs and almost nearly impossible to catch people in isolated islands?” he asked adding it may be an exercise for governments of the world to find out why certain people regularly visit Maldives.

Article by Manish Pachouly.

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