Criminal Court to open hearings in 13‑million‑cigarette theft case involving 10 defendants

The Criminal Court will begin hearings on Monday in the case of 10 individuals charged in connection with the theft of 13 million cigarettes from two containers seized by Maldives Customs.

According to the court schedule, the first hearing is set for 11:00 a.m.

The two containers, seized by Customs on 26 April last year, were being held at Maldives Ports in Hulhumale' when the theft occurred.

Lotus owner Ahmed Arif (Aattey) and Apollo Holdings owner Mohamed Waheed (Dhigali) were among the first suspects arrested. Both were taken into custody on 15 October under a court order and initially remanded pending trial on allegations of financing the theft.

However, on 11 December, after the Prosecutor General’s Office charged Dhigali, Aattey and Hassan Abdul Rahman of K. Thulusdhoo, all three applied for conditional release. Prosecutors later told the court that Dhigali and Aattey were granted conditional bail due to lack of evidence linking them directly to the robbery, while Hassan was released because he was not accused of participating in the theft itself.

The 10 individuals charged in the case are:

• 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, now general manager at MIFCO  

• Adam Waheed, 57 – Apollo employee and captain of the boat allegedly used in the theft  

• Hassan Abdul Rahman, 52 – Apollo employee  

• Ahmed Shaheem, 42 – MPL employee  

• Hussain Samih, 35 – MPL employee  

• Ahmed Firushan, 35 – MPL employee  

• Mohamed Alamin Mia, 36 – Bangladeshi national  

They face charges of conspiracy to take property without authorisation, conspiracy to commit theft, and theft.