The Maldives Customs Service provided inaccurate information to the Parliament’s Security Services Committee (241 Committee) during its investigation into the smuggling of 200 cartons of cigarettes last year, a senior lawmaker said Tuesday.
The committee’s report on the smuggling case was discussed in the committee meeting on Tuesday, but the session ended without a decision on the report.
Ahmed Nazim, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a ruling party MP who led the drafting of the report, said the initial timeline submitted by Customs was found to be incorrect.
“I just want to point out at this point that the information given to this committee by the Customs is not valid. There are problems in the timeline sent by the Customs,” Nazim told Parliament.
According to Nazim, the Security Services Committee requested a revised and accurate timeline, which was subsequently submitted under the direct supervision of the Commissioner General of Customs.
“The first timeline we were given was invalid. We have brought it to the attention of the Commissioner General and got the valid information,” he said.
The committee’s report now includes the corrected timeline.
Providing false information to Parliament or its committees is a criminal offence. It remains unclear whether any action will be taken against the customs officials responsible for the initial submission.