Customs seize drugs worth MVR 15m from Brazilian traveler
17 ނޮވެމްބަރު 2022 | ބުރާސްފަތި 15:09Cocaine weighing more than 17kilograms, have been seized so far this year
An officer of the MPS Drug Enforcement Department | police
The Maldives Customs Service has seized cocaine worth MVR 15 million, from a traveler.
Customs revealed that the drugs were confiscated from a Brazilian national who arrived in the Maldives earlier in November.
As such, the Brazilian woman, 29, had attempted to smuggle cocaine into the Maldives on a flight from Brazil, on November 9.
The 29-year-old foreigner was flagged down for suspicious behavior and searched.
Customs officials had searched the woman’s luggage upon which they found suspected narcotics which tested positive to cocaine upon being investigated and run through probes.
The drugs seized from the woman weigh a total of 4.5 kilograms.
The woman and the drugs found in her luggage have since been handed over to the Maldives Police Service (MPS), where a criminal investigation will be conducted.
Customs revealed that this is the 10th time this year, the authority has cracked down on cases linked to cocaine smuggling.
As such, customs have so far seized cocaine smuggled into the Maldives, weighing more than 17 kilograms.
