Maldives Immigration has lodged three cases of human trafficking at the Maldives Police Service for investigation.

The office revealed details to media on Wednesday, stating that complaints have been filed against three companies that submitted wrong documents, and are accused of bringing in expatriate workers in a way that encourages human trafficking.

The case was lodged on 11 December, said the immigration department.

Further, it has been revealed that the transactions and details of those accused have also been shared with the authorities. Immigration has since temporarily suspended the licenses of all three companies, to bring in expatriate workers.

Along with the three cases, a total of 27 cases of human trafficking through the immigration of expatriate workers have been submitted so far.

The department has assured the public that they are working jointly with relevant authorities to bring an end to the issue of human trafficking in Maldives. As such, Immigration in April this year launched awebsiteto assist victims as part of their work to combat the issue.

The website shows information on the laws on human trafficking and provides contact information of the relevant authorities, foreign embassies, and non-governmental organizations.

According to the website, human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world and the fastest growing one, and 70% of the victims of trafficking are women and 50% are children.