Maldives Customs Service launch investigation on a suspicious shipment, owing to verifiable intel received to the authority about potential smuggling or contraband activities.
Customs said that the consignee had declared the shipment contained 343 cartons of paper tissue earlier on May 19, 2024.
Upon receiving intel about potential contraband within the shipment, Customs executed a joint operation on June 13, 2024 to inspect the items brought in the shipment.
Customs said besides the 343 cartons of paper tissue declared by the consignee, the shipment contained 200 master cartons of cigarette – which is a total of 3,199,200 cigarettes.
The authority said it has already launched further investigation into the matter to identify all the culpable parties involved.