Maldives Customs Service has seized 1,360 cases of cigarettes at the sea cargo terminal in Hulhumale' on Saturday.
Customs said the smuggled cigarette cases were recovered from a plywood shipment during an operation following intelligence information.
Two 40-foot containers in the shipment were checked and 13.6 million cigarette sticks were seized.
Customs estimate the duty on these cigarettes will amount to around MVR 122 million. The authority said it is investigating the matter further.
They have not yet named anyone involved in the case. But the authority disclosed the information after Adhadhu reported about smuggled cigarettes found in a shipment brought for the Velana International Airport (VIA) project.
The containers for the airport project were unloaded at the sea cargo terminal. Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said the shipment has nothing to do with the company and said they were imported by the contractor.
The contractor for the airport project is the Saudi Bin Laden Group.
Smuggling of cigarettes has increased following the increase in duty on cigarettes last year. Recently, customs seized a shipment of cigarettes at the Addu port.
