Police have arrested four individuals, including two prominent businessmen and a senior Customs official, in connection with the theft of seized cigarettes from the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) Hulhumalé Port.
The cigarettes, 1,360 cases in total, had been confiscated by Maldives Customs Service on April 26 while being smuggled into the country under the name of Saudi Arabia’s Bin Laden Group. They were later stored at MPL’s Hulhumalé Port, where the theft was discovered last Wednesday.
Those arrested include businessmen Mohamed Waheed (Dhigali), owner of Apollo, and Ahmed Arif (Aattey), owner of Lotus. Also detained are former Customs Senior Superintendent Muaz Ali, currently a senior official at MIFCO, and Customs official Zivaar Ismail.
Police have issued travel bans on 12 people in connection with the case and searched several vessels and locations as part of the ongoing investigation.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has since ordered Maldives Customs to remove those responsible and take strict action over the incident.
