13M cigarette heist: Aattey remanded for 15 days, Dhigali for 10

The four people, two of them business magnates, accused by police of being the ringleaders behind the theft of two containers of smuggled cigarettes from the Hulhumale’ port, have been remanded in custody of the police.

The two containers containing 13.6 million sticks of cigarettes smuggled into the Maldives were seized by Maldives Customs Service on April 26, and kept at the seaport in Hulhumale’, a facility managed by the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL). The theft of the cigarettes was discovered on October 8, and reported to police on October 9.

On Tuesday night, the police arrested four people believed to be ringleaders behind the heist. They are:

• Ahmed Arif (Aattey), 61, the owner of Lotus
• Mohamed Waheed (Dhigali), 65, the owner of Apollo Holdings
• Zivar Ismail, 40, a high-ranking Customs official
• Muaz Ali, 48, a former Customs official who now works as the general manager for engineering and projects at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO)

All four were brought before a judge at the Criminal Court for their remand hearing on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson told Sun that the court ordered for Arif and Zivaar to be remanded in custody of the police for 15 days, Waheed for 10 days, and Muaz for five.

The police have imposed travel bans on 12 individuals and searched multiple vessels and other properties as they investigate the case.

Meanwhile, the MPL has suspended at least six employees as it conducts an internal investigation into the case, and have launched a security audit at both the Hulhumale’ Terminal and the Male’ Commercial Port to reinforce security at the facilities.