Customs seizes drugs worth over MVR 9.8 million

Maldives Customs Service has seized 11.62 kilograms of drugs worth over MVR 9.86 million smuggled into the Maldives in two separate operations this month.

In a statement on Tuesday, Customs said the first cache of drugs were discovered during an inspection of packages brought in via courier on August 14.

One of the packages had 600 grams of a substance which tested positive for synthetic cathinone.

The street value of the drugs is estimated to be MVR 960,000.

The second cache of drugs were discovered during an inspection of air shipments brought in on August 19.

One of the shipments had drugs that tested positive for heroin and cannabis. The heroin seized in the operation weighed 270 grams with packing, while the cannabis seized in the operation weighed 10.2 kilograms.

The street value of the drugs is estimated to be MVR 8.9 million.

The drugs seized in the operations have been handed over to the police for a criminal investigation.