Four arrested in relation to cigarette disappearance case

Four people have been accused and arrested in relation to the disappearance of 13.6 million cigarettes that were seized by customs in April last year and held at MPL Hulhumale' port, authorities have confirmed.

As per the authorities, two businessmen, a high-ranking customs official and another additional individual were involved. The authorities also said that these four people are accused of being key people in masterminding and running the operation.

It has been reported that the cigarettes that went missing from the MPL Hulhumale' port were brought under Saudi Arabia’s Binladin Group's name. Two containers were initially found among a plywood shipment at the Hulhumale' International Terminal on 26th April 2024, with customs stating that the cigarettes went missing last Wednesday night. Police have been investigating the incident since.

Authorities released information for the first time last night, stating 12 people have been told not to leave the country due to the investigation. They also said that they have searched various vehicles and locations.

"We are conducting an operation tonight (last night) as well. We will release more details as the investigation moves forward," said the police.

The shipment consisted of 1,360 cigarette cases in two 40-foot containers, totaling 13,600,000 cigarettes. This would amount to more than MVR 100 million in import duty for the state, as per customs.

The senior customs official told Mihaaru News that once the two containers were seized by Customs, they were put under MPL's authority.

The containers were handed to MPL with the required documentation, with the cigarettes not being destroyed at the time, as the investigation into their smuggling was still ongoing.

The containers were initially found among a plywood shipment at the Hulhumale' International Terminal when customs had received information that there was an operation to smuggle the cigarettes into the country.

As per the Regulation on Packaging and Labeling Tobacco Products, they can only be imported to Maldives after a photo and label that describes its dangers are put onto the packaging. The products can only be imported after the required approval has been obtained. Customs said that the cigarettes that were smuggled under Binladin Group's name are in violation of those regulations.