20 expats detained in Immigration raid on Hulhumale’ market

20 expatriate workers were detained by Maldives Immigration on Tuesday, in a raid on a food market located in Hulhumale’.

The raid on the Hulhumale’ Rashu Maret was conducted on Tuesday by the special task force set up between Immigration and police to tackle irregular migration.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Immigration said they questioned and inspected the documents of 55 expatriates, and detained 20 who were found in breach of immigration regulations.

The Task Force conducted a raid at Hulhumalé Rashu Market yesterday, targeting illegally working expatriates.

A total of 55 expatriates were inspected, and 20 expatriates found in violation of immigration regulations were detained.@PoliceMv @HomeMinistrymv pic.twitter.com/6gAs8Pp6AN

— Maldives Immigration (@ImmigrationMV) July 29, 2026

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.