Foreigner arrested from airport with MVR 68,000 and USD 1,700

A foreigner has been arrested from Velana International Airport (VIA) on Tuesday with a large sum of cash.

Maldives Police Service said the authority arrested a man on Tuesday after receiving a tip-off about illegal foreign currency exchange taking place near the resort stands at VIA.

The man was identified as a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, Rafeegul Islam.

According to the Police, the man was arrested and searched by the Tourist Police, during which over MVR 68,000, over USD 1,700 and currencies of other nations were discovered on him.

The Police said their investigations so far have uncovered that the man was residing in the Maldives unlawfully.

He has been remanded in custody for 15 days upon presentation before the court.

The case is under further investigation by the Police.

The official US dollar exchange rate in the Maldives MVR 15.42. However, US dollar rate at the black is currently above MVR 20.