Maldives Customs has seized over 13 million cigarette sticks in a major anti-smuggling operation conducted at the Hulhumalé Sea-Cargo Terminal.

According to Customs, the cigarettes were discovered hidden inside a plywood shipment during an operation carried out last night.

Upon inspection, officers recovered 360 cases of cigarettes from two 40-foot containers, amounting to a total of 13,600,000 cigarette sticks.

The identities of those involved in the smuggling attempt have not been disclosed.

Customs estimates the market value of the seized cigarettes at approximately MVR 122 million.

Attempts to smuggle cigarettes into the Maldives have become increasingly frequent.

Just last Thursday, Customs destroyed over one million illegally imported cigarettes which had been confiscated over recent days.