Maldives deports 5,000 irregular expatriates

Some 5,000 irregular expatriates have been deported from the Maldives in the one-year since the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration took office, according to Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan.

In an interview to Public Service Media (PSM) on Wednesday evening, Ihusan said that the President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu gave the Homeland Security Ministry four main tasks – one of which is to provide a permanent solution to illegal migration.

Ihusan said that the ‘Operation Kurangi’ – a program to collect the biometric data of all expatriates in the Maldives - has been expanded to 138 islands.

The biometric data of over 10,000 expatriates have been collected so far, he said.

He expects to finish collecting the biometric data of all expatriates by April next year.

Ihusan said the administration has formulated special policies in a bid to resolve illegal migration, including establishing a mechanism where expatriates who commit crimes and engage in illegal business activities are deported within 48 hours.

“Some 5,000 expatriates have been deported from the Maldives through this system,” he said.

Ihusan believes the administration has done some important work to improve the country’s domestic situation as it nears one year. He added that the Homeland Security Ministry has formulated bills to address the current legal challenges in tackling drug trafficking and gang violence and forwarded it to the Attorney General’s Office for review.