Abdulla Ibrahim, widely known as Abucha and identified by police as a major figure in Addu City’s drug trafficking network, has been returned to prison after authorities reversed a decision granting him parole.
The fallout from the controversial release has also resulted in the dismissal of all six members of the Parole Board who took part in the decision.
Homeland Security, Labour and Technology Minister Ali Ihusaan announced the developments on Tuesday, saying Abucha was taken into police custody at 4:48 pm after the board reconsidered and overturned its earlier decision.
The reversal came after the ministry reviewed how parole had been granted and identified problems with the way legally required factors were assessed, according to Ihusaan.
Abucha had been released at the beginning of October after the Parole Board approved his conditional release late last month.
His release quickly drew attention because of the seriousness of the drug trafficking case for which he was imprisoned and questions surrounding whether the required period of his sentence had been properly calculated.
Ihusaan said the ministry began reviewing the matter after receiving information about the parole decision.
According to the minister, the review found that some of the factors the board is legally required to consider had not been assessed in the prescribed manner.
Ihusaan subsequently instructed the board to reconsider its decision, after which the parole approval was reversed.
Abucha was then taken back into custody to continue serving his prison sentence.
He was convicted in connection with a major drug trafficking operation intercepted by police at sea in October 2020.
The operation resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of narcotics and the arrest of 17 people alongside Abucha.
The drugs seized included approximately 61 kilograms of diamorphine and 17.97 kilograms of methamphetamine racemate, according to details of the case.
Abucha was sentenced in May last year following proceedings related to the trafficking operation.
His sentence was reduced following a guilty plea and a plea agreement reached with the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Explaining the issue surrounding his parole, Ihusaan said authorities had identified problems in calculating the amount of time Abucha had served towards the period required for parole eligibility.
The minister said parole eligibility in the case required completion of at least half of the applicable sentence period, while the board was also required to consider factors beyond the length of time spent in custody.
Those considerations include the prisoner’s behaviour while incarcerated, whether the individual could pose a danger to society and whether there had been drug use while in prison.
According to Ihusaan, the statutory procedures surrounding the calculation and assessment were not properly followed when the decision was made to grant Abucha parole.
The government subsequently decided to dismiss all six Parole Board members who participated in approving the release.
Ihusaan said new appointments would be made to fill the vacancies created on the board.
The minister also pointed to the administration’s broader policy of taking a tougher approach towards major drug trafficking offences.
He referred to legislative changes introduced under President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s administration targeting serious drug trafficking, including provisions for harsher penalties and restrictions on reducing sentences for long-term prisoners.
Abucha has been in custody since his arrest in connection with the 2020 trafficking operation, although the calculation of that period became one of the central issues surrounding the decision to grant him parole.
His brief release and subsequent return to prison have now placed the procedures used by the Parole Board under scrutiny, with the entire group of members involved in the decision removed from their positions.
