18kg drug bust: expat smuggler arrested

Local authorities on Wednesday has arrested a 35-year-old Bangladeshi national while attempting to smuggle 18 kilograms of drugs into the Maldives via air.

The expatriate was apprehended during a special operation conducted by the Maldives Customs Service.

The Minister of Homeland Security Ali Ihusan, in relation to the case, said in a post on X, that the drugs had a street value of MVR 26 million.

Maldives Police Service has corroborated the drug bust and said they were looking into a case of smuggling drugs concealed inside cargo.

The Bangladeshi national, who went to the airport to receive the cargo, has now been put under police custody.

This marks the latest in a series of notable drug busts in the Maldives, while earlier in March MVR 6.7 million worth of drugs smuggled to the country were confiscated by Customs.

Indian authorities led a joint operation of their law enforcement agencies back in March and had confiscated MVR 59 million worth of drugs en-route to the Maldives.