After initially deciding to conceal the name of the company which attempted to smuggle half a tonne of shark meat out of the country, Maldives Customs Service revealed last night that it was 'The Crystal Company Pvt Ltd', owned by local movie director Fathimath Nahula and husband Hussain Sinan since 2005.
In the beginning, when Mihaaru News requested for details under the Right to Information Act (RTI), Customs declined to provide the name citing an ongoing investigation into the attempted export of 582 kilograms of shark and ray meat.
However, Customs posted on X last night detailing incident which was discovered in November last year. The agency detailed that they were investigating the case of 45 boxes of shark and ray meat from a goods shipment, and revealed The Crystal Company as the declarer of the shipment.
Customs further said that following investigations, the goods were disposed of on December 22nd.
Under the International Trade Control in Endangered Species Act, sharks are banned from export.
Customs had previously said that the items were being smuggled out as salted fish. However, after further testing by the Marine Research Centre, it was confirmed that it was shark and ray meat, customs said.
Sharks and rays are prohibited from being caught, used and exported under the general fisheries regulations of Maldives.