Police seize 66 cocaine bullets worth MVR 2.9 million after Customs detect foreign mule at VIA

Customs has caught a foreigner for smuggling drugs worth MVR 2.9 million into Maldives inside his body.

The case took place on the 19th of last month, according to Customs. On that day, a man was flagged at Velana International Airport (VIA) for smuggling drugs into Maldives, the agency said. The man had smuggled 66 bullets of cocaine weighing 1,180 grams.

Those arrested in such cases are handed over to the police by Customs. According to Criminal Court remand orders, the arrested man is now in custody. He has been identified as Andrew Lloyd Corbin, 53, of Jamaica.

According to the court order, Corbin was at the airport when Customs scanned him on suspicion of hiding something. When questioned, he admitted to having drugs inside his body. He was reported to the police, who then conducted a controlled delivery operation instead of arresting him right out.

A controlled delivery operation is an investigative technique in which law enforcement allows a suspect shipment of illegal goods to pass through a transport chain under close supervision to identify and arrest higher-level organisers and ringleaders.

During the operation, Corbin went to a hotel booked in his name. A man who contacted him on WhatsApp instructed him to hand over 33 bullets to a person he would send. The message said the remaining bullets should be handed over to someone else.

Police said two men arrived to collect the drugs, one of whom was identified as Ibrahim Athoof of No-Rights/N. Lhohi. Both men were arrested at the time.

The foreigner was remanded in custody for 30 days on Tuesday.

There are various techniques used to smuggle drugs into the country, and there have been many cases of smuggling by packing drugs inside the body. It is dangerous and often requires medical treatment.

A man was sentenced to 12 years and six months in jail and fined MVR 50,000 by the Criminal Court this year for smuggling a large quantity of drugs into Maldives by swallowing. The case was filed in court in 2024.