Cigarette heist: Captain of boat allegedly transported containers remanded in custody for 7 days

A sixth suspect has been arrested in connection with the theft of 13.6 million cigarettes seized by Maldives Customs earlier this year.

The Criminal Court remanded Adam Waheed (57), Canary-ge, N. Miladhoo, into custody for seven days on Thursday. He is accused of involvement in the theft and is believed to be the captain of the boat that transported the stolen containers, according to the investigating officer.

The two containers of smuggled cigarettes were confiscated on April 26 and stored at the Hulhumale' seaport, managed by Maldives Ports Limited (MPL). The theft was discovered on October 8. Police said parts of the stolen containers were recovered from Thilafushi on Sunday this week.

The first four suspects were arrested earlier on October 14, including two prominent businessmen believed to have financed the heist:

• Ahmed Arif (Aattey), 61, owner of Lotus  

• Mohamed Waheed (Dhigali), 65, owner of Apollo Holdings  

• Zivar Ismail, 40, senior Customs official  

• Muaz Ali, 48, former Customs official and current general manager at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO)

On October 15, the Criminal Court remanded all four into police custody: Arif for 15 days, Waheed for 10 days, and Muaz for five. On Monday, Muaz’s remand was extended by another 10 days. Both Muaz and Zivar have since been suspended from their posts.

The fifth suspect was arrested on Tuesday this week; Hassan Abdul Rahman, 52, from Link, K. Thulusdhoo. According to the court order, he is accused of aiding the successful theft of the cigarettes

Police have also banned 12 individuals from leaving the country but have not disclosed their identities.