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NEW DELHI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- India on Saturday deported back Maldives' former vice-president Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor who had tried entering into the country illegally along with his nine other countrymen, confirmed sources in the Ministry of External Affairs to Xinhua.

"Yes, he has been deported back today," said a ministry source on phone.

Ghafoor, along with the nine crew members on board a tugboat, was handed over to the Maldives' security personnel at the International Boundary Line, reported the English daily The Times of India.

According to the sources, he had illegally tried entering into India territory on Thursday as he didn't possess valid travel documents. He is said to have escaped his country after facing serious criminal charges there.

The tugboat was denied permission to dock at the Tuticorin Old Port in Tamil Nadu when it reached there on Thursday. Since then the tugboat was anchored a few nautical miles off the Port.

On Saturday, personnel belonging to the Indian Coast Guard took him, the tugboat and its crew to the International Maritime Boundary and handed them over to the Maldives' security personnel.

On Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar stated that Ghafoor was denied entry into India as he tried entering through a non-designated point and also did not possess valid travel documents.