Six MPL employees suspended due to cigarette disappearance

Six MPL employees have been suspended 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.

As per a statement released by MPL today, when this case came to light on 8th October, five employees have been suspended since the beginning of the investigation up until Sunday, with one more employee being suspended today.

MPL stated that they will not hesitate to take action against those who were involved, and that they will implement steps to ensure an incident like this does not repeat again. They said they will also bolster their operation systems and port security.

"As this is a very serious case, our investigation is being conducted without interfering with the investigation by the authorities. We have been cooperating with the authorities since the start of this matter, and we ensure we will keep doing so as time goes on," as was said in the MPL's statement.

In regards to the key people who masterminded and ran the operation, police have arrested Apollo CEO Mohamed Waheed (Dhigali) and Lotus owner Ahmed Arif (Aattey), former Senior Superintendent of Customs Muaz Ali (H. New Happiness) and a senior officer of a Customs Department Ziwar Ismail. They were arrested last night via a court order.

Muaz has been accused of seeking bribes for importing 430 cigarette cases, with the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) having requested the Prosecutor General's (PG) office charge him this month.

Muaz is currently the General Manager (Engineering Projects) at the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO).

Along with that, 12 people have been barred from leaving the country due to the investigation.

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. Customs stated that the cigarettes were not destroyed at the time, as the investigation into their smuggling was still ongoing.

Customs found out that the 13.6 million cigarettes were missing from both containers on 8th October. Police began investigating the matter from then onwards.

The shipment consisted of 1,360 cigarette cases in two 40-foot containers, totaling 13,600,000 cigarettes. This would amount to MVR 122 million in import duty for the state, as per customs.

When it was found out that both containers were void of the cigarettes, MPL began an internal investigation on 9th October.

A 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 attempt 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.