Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrested a senior sergeant in connection with the disappearance of multiple cartons of seized cigarettes from the Villimale Police Station.

The suspect has been identified as Munawwar Adam, 39. Police confirmed that he has been suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

The case is being jointly probed by the Maldives Police Service and the National Integrity Commission (NIC).

According to police, 31 cartons of cigarettes confiscated from a foreign national on 23 May were stored at the Villimalé station, but six cartons later went missing. In another incident, 25 cartons seized from two foreigners on 23 December last year were also reported missing from the same station.

Police said further inquiries are ongoing.