It has been revealed that among the four individuals arrested by the police in connection with the disappearance of over 13.6 million cigarettes from MPL Hulhumale Port, which were seized by Customs in April while attempting to smuggle into the Maldives, are two businessmen: Mohamed Waheed (Digali), the owner of Apollo, and Ahmed Arif (Aatey), the owner of Lotus. The police stated that four people have been arrested on suspicion of being key figures in planning the operation to remove cigarette containers that were under MPL’s custody at Hulhumale Port. According to the police, this includes two businessmen, a senior Customs official, and another individual.
The four individuals include Digali and Aatey, as well as former Customs Senior Superintendent H. New Happiness, Muaz Ali, and a senior official from a Customs department, Zivaar Ismail. Zivaar had been working at Hulhumale Port. Among these four, Muaz is the person for whom the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has requested the Prosecutor General’s Office to press charges this month, on suspicion of soliciting bribes for importing 430 cases of cigarettes into the Maldives.
Muaz is currently still serving as the General Manager of Engineering Projects at MIFCO, the state fishing company. According to information released by the police to the media, 12 people have been barred from leaving the country as part of the investigation into the missing cigarettes case. They also mentioned that some vessels and locations have been searched. The police stated that an operation related to the investigation of the missing 13.6 million plus cigarettes is still ongoing. “We will continue to release more information as the investigation progresses,” the police said. Although four individuals suspected of being key planners in the operation to “steal” cigarettes from two containers at MPL Hulhumale Port have been arrested under court order, those who actually removed the items from the port have not yet been arrested.
According to available information, the over 13.6 million cigarettes were removed by loading them onto a boat at MPL Hulhumale Port. Some informed sources have also stated that attempts were made to conceal the act from CCTV cameras. The cigarette containers were kept under MPL’s custody at Hulhumale Port after Customs seized them on the night of April 26 last year, while they were being smuggled into the Maldives under the name of Saudi Arabia’s Binladin Group. Customs stated that the containers were kept there as the investigation was not complete.
Customs discovered that the cigarettes were missing from the two containers on Wednesday night of last week. Since then, the police have been conducting an investigation into the matter. The two 40-foot containers smuggled into the Maldives contained 1,360 cases of cigarettes, totaling 13.6 million cigarette sticks. According to Customs, based on the usual prices set for the seized cigarette brands, the duty for 13.6 million cigarettes would amount to 122 million rufiyaa.
Customs had previously stated that the smuggled cigarette boxes were discovered during an operation at Hulhumale Sea Cargo Terminal after receiving information about an attempt to smuggle these items in a plywood shipment. According to tobacco labeling regulations, cigarettes can only be imported into the Maldives after labeling them with photos indicating their harmful effects. They can only be brought in with the necessary permits. Customs stated that the cigarettes smuggled under the name of the Binladin Group were imported in violation of these regulations.
