Indian Authorities Arrest Several Over Attempted MVR 33 Million Drug Smuggling to Maldives
30 ސެޕްޓެމްބަރު 2026 | ބުދަ 08:00Indian authorities have seized hashish oil valued at 17 crore rupees intended for maritime smuggling from Tuticorin to the Maldives, resulting in the arrest of four suspects. In a separate incident, officials intercepted a passenger traveling from Malaysia to Chennai with cannabis worth 1.2 crore rupees, prompting Indian police to launch an extensive investigation to identify and dismantle the interconnected drug trafficking networks operating within the Maldives.
India’s Border Security Force (BSF) Deputy Inspector General (DIG) M.F. Farooqui and fellow officers pose with 11 kilograms of heroin seized near the Indo-Pakistani border. This photograph was taken on September 2, 2013. | getty images
Authorities in India have seized narcotics valued at over 18 crore rupees (approximately 33 million Maldivian Rufiyaa) in two separate operations conducted across Tamil Nadu. The seizures include a shipment of hashish oil suspected to be bound for the Maldives, as well as hydroponic cannabis confiscated from a passenger at Chennai International Airport. Four men were arrested during the operation in Tuticorin, while a female passenger was taken into custody in connection with the drug seizure at Chennai airport.
According to police, the 67 kilograms of hashish oil seized in Tuticorin, valued at 17 crore rupees, was intended to be smuggled into the Maldives via a sea vessel. In a separate incident, customs officers at Chennai airport seized 3.4 kilograms of hydroponic cannabis, valued at approximately 1.2 crore rupees, from the luggage of a passenger arriving from Kuala Lumpur.
Indian police stated that the operation in Tuticorin was launched following a significant tip-off regarding an impending drug transaction. A special police task force seized the substances in the Poobalarayerpuram area. Preliminary investigations reveal that the contraband was transported from Coimbatore to Tuticorin by car last Monday.
According to the police, the suspects in this case had planned to smuggle the contraband into the Maldives by sea via a boat. All four individuals taken into custody are residents of Tuticorin. Authorities have also seized the vessel used to transport the hashish oil. The case has now been officially registered under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Police are currently interrogating the suspects to identify the source of the hashish oil produced in Coimbatore, as well as to uncover members of the international network who were awaiting the shipment in the Maldives. Further investigations into the matter are ongoing.
In a statement regarding the incident in Chennai, Joint Commissioner of Customs K.M. Guru Rajesh confirmed that Air Intelligence Unit officers intercepted and searched an Indian female passenger arriving from Malaysia. The Commissioner stated that during the inspection of her checked-in baggage, officers discovered hydroponic cannabis vacuum-packed in plastic covers.
