3.2 kg of cannabis seized from postal package in Maldives
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.
Maldives Customs seized3.2kg of cannabis that was allegedly being smuggled into
the country through the postal service.[1]Officers found the drugs on
Saturday during a search of a postal package suspected of containing drugs.[1]
Customs said the package was discovered during a routine inspection of a
suspicious postal package and further examination confirmed cannabis.[2]
Authorities released no further details and it remains unclear whether any
arrests were made in connection with the shipment.[2]Authorities urged the
public to remain vigilant because innocent people have previously faced criminal
allegations after agreeing to collect suspicious packages for others.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The sources say only Saturday; 15 August 2026 is used as the incident date because it was the Saturday before the 18 August publications.
No arrests, suspects, origin country or intended recipient were reported.
No separate inspection location was named, so the report is placed at country level.
The Edition article mentions a separate May 5 airport seizure of about 500g of cannabis and a separate July 29 sea seizure, which belong to other events and are left out here.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Adhadhu: The seized substance tested positive for cannabis and weighed over 3.2 kilograms.
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.
Officers found more than 15 kg of cannabis in the luggage of a 44-year-old Malaysian man who arrived on flight EK656 on 27 July 2024. Police put the street value at MVR 12.3 million and called it the largest single cannabis seizure of the year; a controlled delivery led to a second arrest, of a 41-year-old Malaysian man.
Police said 56 operations had seized about 19 kg of drugs by mid-May 2024, with a street value of MVR 104 million. They had arrested 260 Maldivians and 16 foreigners, opened 257 drug cases, sent 95 to the Prosecutor General and reported shutting five drug networks. The figures covered all drugs, not cannabis alone.
