President Orders Removal of Two Senior Maldives Customs Staff over Cigarette Smuggling Case

President Mohamed Muizzu has directed the removal of two senior staff members from the Maldives Customs Service in connection with the cigarette smuggling and money‑laundering investigation.

In a post shared on his official X account, President Muizzu attributed the decision following a letter from the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services (the “241 Committee”) detailing its findings on an incident in which cigarettes were reportedly smuggled into the Maldives via an oil-tanker owned by Hawks Private Limited, and a separate case involving the removal of cigarette cartons from a bonded warehouse under Maldives Customs. 

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The President said he had ordered the removal of two staff members holding the position of Deputy Commissioner of Customs and further instructed the Customs Service to investigate and, if required, take action against three additional staff members, whose ranks were not specified.

Investigators from the Maldives Police Service and Maldives Customs say that on 24 October 2024, a vessel owned by Hawks, the “Hawks Javaahiru”, arrived in the Maldives without the cigarettes being declared on its manifest. It is alleged that the next night, the cigarettes were unloaded at the company’s jetty at Thilafushi. 

The police said that the shipment comprised some 200 master cartons of Manchester‑brand cigarettes, with the implicated offences being smuggling under Article 97 of the Customs Act and money‑laundering under Article 53 of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act.

Hawks Private Limited, primarily known as an oil‑importing and distributing company, has denied involvement in tobacco imports and said that some employees were misusing company resources for illicit gain, and that it had cooperated with authorities.

Investigations by the Maldives Police Service and Maldives Customs Service revealed that 575 cases of cigarettes and other tobacco products were illegally removed from bonded warehouses earlier this year, including 165 cases of Camel Yellow, 110 cases of American Legend, and 300 cases of Manchester Royal Red from Exotic Enterprises Bonded Warehouse. Additionally, 250 cases of American Legend cigarettes and 130 cases of Afzal Molasses pipe tobacco were seized from SGM Bonded Warehouse.

As a result, the registration of both warehouses was cancelled, and outstanding dues exceeding MVR 68 million were forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for legal proceedings. Regulatory changes were also introduced to prohibit the storage of tobacco products in bonded warehouses and restrict the construction of such facilities in residential areas. 

The police are also investigating a high-profile case involving the theft of two containers of confiscated cigarettes, each measuring 40 feet, from the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) facility in Hulhumalé. According to the Maldives Customs Service, the containers held about 360 cases of cigarettes — approximately 13.6 million sticks — with an estimated duty value of MVR 122 million. The cigarettes had been confiscated by Customs in April this year. Earlier this month, police announced that the containers had been stolen. So far, nine individuals — including local businessmen and customs staff — have been arrested in connection with the case. In a separate but related development, the parliamentary 241 Committee recently reported a surge in illegal cigarette and vape imports, warning that smuggled tobacco now exceeds legally imported duty‑paid volumes.