Criminal Court has extended the remand of Muaz Ali, General Manager of the Engineering and Projects Department at the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO), for an additional 10 days in connection with a major cigarette theft case.

The case involves the theft of cigarette consignments from the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) Hulhumalé International Terminal, reported to police on 9 October. Muaz is among four suspects arrested in connection with the case, which also includes two businessmen and a senior Customs officer.

The suspects are identified as Ahmed Arif, 61, owner of Lotus; Mohamed Waheed, 65, owner of Apollo Mission; Muaz Ali, 48, former Senior Superintendent at Customs; and Ziwar Ismail, 40, a senior officer at Customs.

Arif and Ziwar were remanded for 15 days, Waheed for 10 days, and Muaz, initially remanded for five days, has now had his remand extended by another 10 days.

Muaz, who was dismissed from Customs in 2019 over similar allegations, has been suspended from his post at MIFCO for 30 days pending investigation.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has also requested the Prosecutor General’s Office to file charges against Muaz for accepting bribes. The investigation relates to 450 cases of cigarettes imported by a private company in 2018, of which 430 were reportedly released from the Hulhumalé Bonded Warehouse after re-export procedures were completed.

According to the ACC, evidence suggests that Muaz solicited bribes from two companies in exchange for the release of the goods. The charges fall under Article 510 of the Penal Code, which concerns the solicitation or acceptance of unlawful benefits.

The case remains under investigation by both the Maldives Customs Service and the ACC.