Lobster fishermen find 1.6 tons of hashish sunk in a Maldives lagoon
Lobster fishermen diving in the Maldives found 1,600 waterproof one-kilo packages of hashish sunk in a lagoon on 22 April 2006; police, customs and the Coast Guard took custody of the 1.6-ton haul, the largest ever reported in the country. No arrests were made and the stash was later destroyed.
🇲🇻 Lagoon waters about two hours north-east of Malé · Maldives
Lobster fishermen diving in a Maldives lagoon found hashish sunk in about 10
metres of water in waterproof one-kilo packages and contacted the
authorities.[1]Maldives Police seized the 1.6-ton haul on 22 April 2006 in
territorial waters about two hours north-east of Malé, with the Coast Guard
and security agencies taking custody.[1]The Haveeru news agency reported
the find the next day, saying the fishermen had found the hashish packed in
1,697 plastic bags on the ocean bed, about 1,700 kilos in total.[2]
Police, customs and defence officials confirmed it as the country’s biggest
illegal drug find.[2]The United States Embassy cable called it by far the
largest seizure ever reported in the Maldives, far beyond local consumption
and a possible early sign of transshipment through the islands.[1]Maldives Police and Customs investigated and asked the United States Drug
Enforcement Administration for help.[1]
Aftermath
No arrests were made, and police destroyed the stash two years later.[3]A 2018 retrospective places the lagoon off an island in Alif Alif Atoll,
while the 2006 cable puts the find north-east of the capital.[3][1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The 2018 account places the lagoon in Alif Alif Atoll while the 2006 cable puts the find north-east of Male; the report follows the contemporary official account.
Haveeru's early count of 1,697 bags weighing about 1,700 kilos differs from the later official figure of 1,600 one-kilo packages; the report uses the official figure.
Nobody was ever reported arrested, and the outcome of the investigation after the request for United States assistance is not known.
The 2018 retrospective illustrates the story with a photo of a different 2018 boat incident, not this seizure, so no usable photo of the event was found.
Maldives Customs seized 3.2 kg of cannabis from a suspicious postal package inspected on Saturday 15 August 2026. No arrests were reported, and Customs warned the public against collecting suspicious parcels for others.
Customs officers inspecting sea freight on 25 December 2025 found more than 40 kg of hashish oil hidden in bottles labelled as chocolate syrup. Police estimated the street value at over MVR 30 million and arrested two men, aged 47 and 57, on 26 and 27 December; both were remanded for five days. Hashish oil is a cannabis concentrate and is treated as a Schedule 1 drug.
Operation Alimagu began on 13 November 2025 with about 500 officers raiding 110 places on 39 islands; police said 110 people were arrested on the first day. By late December they had searched 166 locations and nine vessels, arrested 193 people, and seized 30.63 kg of drugs and 182 bottles of alcohol.
Maldives Customs seized 9 kg of mixed drugs—identified as synthetic cathinone, heroin, cannabis and ecstasy—from a 65-year-old Maldivian man, an air cargo shipment and a post package, and handed the man to police for further investigation. The cannabis component is not broken out separately from the combined total.
