Illegal cigarette import: Nazim says it was a MVR 46 million transaction

The Parliament's 241 Committee (National Security Committee) has revealed that a large shipment of cigarettes smuggled into the Maldives last October was part of a carefully planned and coordinated operation.

In a committee meeting held about the incident, Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim said some of the information in the report shared by Maldives Customs Service was questionable and needs further clarification.

The only way to conclude the matter was by seeking answers, he said.

According to local reports, a total of 8,400 cartons cigarettes (84,000 cigarette boxes) were smuggled into the country via a Hawks Private Limited's fuel tanker. It is reported that an internal investigation concluded no involvement of the company's management, and that those responsible have had action taken against them.

However, police are still investigating the case, and have taken statements of the crew on board.

At today's meeting, Nazim revealed that Customs has ruled that the cigarettes were fake. Nazim went on to say that the authorised importer of the cigarette brand escalated the matter to court and that the cigarettes remain held at a bonded warehouse under a court order.

Amidst this, Exotic Enterprises, the company alleged to have smuggled the cigarette shipment changed their shareholders as well, Nazim said.

"There is a timeline shared by Customs. We notice that some information is missing from the timeline. It doesn't even include the date on which the shares were transferred. On a later date, Customs shared that they handed over the goods to the shareholders [of the company, who took over the company later].

When this happened is also unclear from the timeline, Nazim said, adding that MVR 46 million was billed to the company with the new shareholders. The entire operation was meticulously planned, he accused.

"After the cigarettes were first imported and paid for, and when they [the goods] were seized under a court order, the company's shares were transferred. After transferring, the goods [held] in the bonded warehouse were illegally sold," he said.

Customs only became aware of the development when the 241 committee notified them, Nazim said, and accused the whole incident to be a major crime and fraud. He also called for Customs to be questioned about how the whole situation transpired.

At the end of the meeting, the committee concluded investigate whether Hawks had any involvement in the case and draft a separate report about that, along side another report about the financial transactions and companies involved in the smuggle. These reports will then be submitted to the parliamentary floor.

The committee also plans to summon Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan, Police Commissioner Ali Shujau and the Customs Commissioner for questioning.