15 kg of cannabis seized at Velana airport, two Malaysians held
Customs officers at Velana International Airport found over 15 kg of cannabis in the luggage of a 44-year-old Malaysian who arrived on Emirates flight EK656 from Dubai on 27 July 2024. A controlled delivery that night led to a second Malaysian arrest; police called it the year's largest cannabis seizure.
🇲🇻 Velana International Airport, Hulhumale · Maldives
Maldives Customs officers found over 15 kg of cannabis in the luggage of a
44-year-old Malaysian national who arrived at Velana International Airport on
Emirates flight EK656 from Dubai on the morning of 27 July 2024.[1][2]Police valued the seizure at 12.3 million rufiyaa, and initial tests confirmed
the substance was cannabis.[1][2]
The police Drug Enforcement team then ran a controlled delivery, which led to
the arrest of a second suspect, a 41-year-old Malaysian man, that night.[1][2]Both men were remanded for five days by the Criminal Court while the
investigation continued.[1][2]
Police said the investigation pointed to an international trafficking network
with links to people from four countries, and called the haul the largest
cannabis seizure in the Maldives that year.[1][2]
Photos and video
Cannabis seized at Velana International Airport. Photo: Maldives Police ServicePhoto details
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.
