836 expats checked, 32 detained in Immigration raid on Thilafushi

Dozens of expatriate workers were detained by Maldives Immigration on Saturday, in a raid on the industrial island of K. Thilafushi.

The raid on Thilafushi was conducted on Saturday by the special task force set up between Immigration and police to tackle irregular migration.

According to a post on X by Immigration on Sunday, the authorities questioned and checked the papers of 836 expatriates.

32 expatriates found in breach of immigration regulations were detained.

However, Immigration did not disclose the nationality of the expatriates detained in the operation.

The crackdown on irregular migration – launched in 2023 – has seen over 12,000 expatriates deported from the Maldives.

The authorities also launched ‘Operation Kurangi’ in May 2024, an initiative to collect the biometric data of all expatriates working in the Maldives.

Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan said in April that authorities were able to bring down the population of undocumented migrants from 72 percent to 38 percent over the last two years under the operation.

The third phase of ‘Operation Kurangi’, rolled out in May, focuses on the immediate identification, arrest, and deportation of undocumented expatriates and those with outstanding visa fees.