Hawks suspends employees involved in cigarette smuggling racket

The Hawks says it has suspended the employees found to have been involved in smuggling cartons of cigarettes on one of its ships, insisting that the company has zero involvement in the smuggling racket.

In a press statement on Monday, Hawks, one of the country’s top importers and distributors of fuel, called media reports of the company’s involvement in smuggling the cigarettes “untrue.”

The cigarette cartons were found on a ship in a raid on Hawks’ boatyard in K. Thilafushi on Friday night.

The Home Ministry announced the seizure of the cigarette cartons on Sunday. It said that Customs was conducting an ongoing raid operation in connection to the case.

Neither the Home Ministry nor Hawks specified the exact quantity of cartons seized.

In its statement, Hawks said that the authorities searched the boatyard without a court warrant. But it said the management had allowed the police to search the boatyard until it was able to obtain a warrant, and was cooperating fully with the authorities.

The company added that it had launched an internal investigation in the wake of the incident. It said that a review of CCTV footage shows that some of the company’s employees are believed to have misused the company’s resources in an attempt to profit from illegal business activities.

“The company immediately suspended the employees and reported it to relevant investigative agencies,” said Hawks, without specifying the number of employees who were suspended.

The Hawks is one of the country’s biggest importers and distributors of fuel. In Monday’s statement, the company said it is not involved and nor does it have any interest in engaging in the tobacco business.