Former vice-president of Maldives Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor, who has been detained by the Central agencies since Thursday for unlawfully entering the Indian territorial waters in a tug boat, was deported from India on Saturday.
The tug boat “Virgo 9”, escorted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), will be handing over Ahmed Adeeb to the Maldivian authorities at the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), sources in the Bureau of Immigration said here.
The tug boat with Ahmed Adeeb and nine crew members was heading towards the IMBL after completion of legal formalities. As per the protocol, Adeeb and all the crew members had to undergo medical checkup and provided with food rations before being deported from the Indian waters, the sources added.
Besides, the former Maldives vice-president, the nine crew members, including eight Indonesians and an Indian national, will also be handed over to the Maldivian authorities, as Maldives police announced that all people involved in aiding him to flee would become part of the criminal investigation. Ahmed Adeeb was denied permission to enter the country and was almost confined in the boat for the past two days.
The Indian authorities also denied permission to dock the tug boat at Thoothukudi port and was anchored in high seas about 50 metres from the old harbour.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that Mr Adeeb was not permitted to enter India as he did not possess valid documents. He was quizzed by various Central agencies.
Adeep, a high-profile politician, was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment on various charges, including orchestrating an assassination attempt on then Maldivies President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on September 28, 2015, corruption and also possessing firearms.
He was removed from office as Vice-President by a no confidence vote on November 5, 2015.
