Customs seizes cocaine worth MVR 21 million from passenger luggage

Maldives Customs Service has seized drugs worth MVR 21 million from the luggage of a passenger who traveled to Maldives by air.

Customs said the drugs were discovered amidst screening the luggage of a passenger who had traveled to Maldives by air on May 3, which prompted an inspection over the presence of a suspicious substance.

The authority said that in the first phase of testing, the suspicious substance had tested positive for cocaine.

The drugs found in the passenger luggage weighed 4.226 kilograms. Its street value has been estimated at MVR 21 million.

Customs said the drugs have been handed over to Maldives Police Service.

On April 28, Customs seized 1.363 kilograms of methamphetamine smuggled into Maldives through a courier service. The street value of the drugs is estimated to be MVR 500,000.