15 expatriates who were working illegally at the local market in Hulhumalé Phase I have been taken into Immigration custody.

Maldives Immigration took to social media platform ‘X’ to reveal this on Thursday, noting that a raid operation was conducted on Wednesday evening in Hulhumalé.

As part of the raid operation, 37 individuals were searched.

Among them, 15 foreigners who were illegally conducting business and working at the market were detained. The department stated that this includes 10 men and five women.

While there are several expatriates conducting business without permits in the Maldives, Immigration has been carrying out raid operations in multiple areas to find expatriates residing illegally.

In addition to this, Immigration has been collecting information on expatriates living in the Maldives, working to bring them under the law, and taking legal action against them. This includes taking measures against those who employ these individuals illegally.

To address the issue of illegal expatriates in the Maldives, the government has begun important initiatives such as collecting biometric data to determine the number and information of expatriates residing in the island nation.

Immigration has stated that to find a permanent solution to the issue of illegal expatriates in the Maldives, more than 7,000 individuals have been deported so far.