News Desk
Home Minister Ali Ihsan said at a press conference at Presidents office that nearly two million cigarettes and about 7,000 vape sticks have been seized over the past six months in operations carried out by customs and police. The items were intercepted while being smuggled into the Maldives, following the nationwide ban on the import of vapes and related devices that came into force on 15 November.
Since the ban, authorities have reported a sharp rise in attempted smuggling. Ihsan added that more than 83 kilograms of drugs were also seized during the same period, with a street value of 72.2 million rufiyaa.
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