Indian news outlets have reported that a Maldivian man was arrested with 3.2kg of hashish at the Cochin International Airport on Tuesday.

According to Indian media, arrested was Mohamed Sobah, 32, native to Villingili in Gaaf Alifu atoll under suspicion of being a member of an international drug trafficking group.

Citing Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar, Indian media reported that the hash oil weighing 3.125 kgs was sealed inside a hidden cavity in his bag.

With an estimated street value of more than USD one million, the hashish was to be imported to Maldives from Bahrain, where the man was planning to divert the drugs from, via an IndiGo flight.

Indian media also reports that the man has since been taken into police custody, and the Narcotics Control Bureau is currently looking into the case.

This comes at a time three Maldivians were arrested in Cochin with 1.5 liters of hashish.

They were believed to be linked to an international drug cartel based in Hong Kong which uses Indian ports for their operations.

By year end in 2018, Maldives Customs revealed that they had seized 232 percent more narcotics in 2018, compared to 2017.

As such, they had seized 32 kilograms of narcotics in 83 operations from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.