Maldives Customs Service has seized over two million cigarettes smuggled into the country by sea and imposed a fine of MVR 2 million on the importer.
According to a statement posted on the Maldives Customs Service’s X account, a total of 2,304,200 cigarette sticks were confiscated during the operation.
The seizure followed a tip-off received by Customs Intelligence regarding an attempt to smuggle cigarettes concealed within a sea freight shipment. Based on this information, Customs conducted a special operation on May 14 and 15.
Customs stated that the seized cigarettes have an estimated import duty value of MVR 18.7 million. In addition to the seizure, the party responsible for the illegal import has been fined MVR 2.05 million.
Authorities have not yet officially disclosed the identities of the individuals or entities involved in the smuggling attempt.
Incidents of cigarette smuggling have seen a rise following President Mohamed Muizzu’s decision to increase import duties on tobacco and tobacco-related products.
