Local cop attempts smuggling cigarettes from Duty Free

A case has been reported involving a Maldives Police Service officer attempting to smuggle cigarette cartons from Duty Free at the airport.

‘Sun’ Online learned about the incident from a trusted source, but had not received any official comments as the case was still under investigation by the Maldives Customs Service.

As the case is still being probed, ‘Sun’ could not learn the exact quantity of cartons in the attempted smuggling incident.

Both the police and customs had recently begun investigation on a case of illegal transportation of 955 cigarette cartons from two bonded warehouses.

In the current administration’s intense anti-tobacco efforts, the Maldives government made vape and all of its related products illegal as of December last year while another stringent regulation was implemented last week that banned filter tubes and boxes used in rolling handmade cigarettes.

The new regulation has further surged tobacco prices locally intensifying public concerns.