Authorities raid Male’ markets in crackdown on illegal migration

Maldives Immigration and the police launched a joint operation on Saturday, to identify expatriates working illegally at the Local Market and the Traveler’s Market in the Maldivian capital.

While the law prohibits expatriates from working as shopkeepers or vendors, many of the market stalls are run by expatriates.

The police were seen raiding the markets in Male’ on Saturday morning.

When asked about the operation, a police spokesperson said the police and Immigration were conducting a joint operation to catch illegal migrants.

The police said that such migrants identified by the police are handed over to the custody of Immigration.

The spokesperson said the police did not make any raids in Saturday’s operation.

Illegal migration remains a longstanding issue in the Maldives.

The Home Ministry has launched a special operation under the name ‘Kurangi’, in a crackdown on illegal migration.

The biometrics of over 1,500 migrants have been collected under the operation.

At a session of the ‘Ahaa’ public forum back in April, Ihusan said the issue of undocumented migrants will be resolved in three years.

He said that the collection of biometric data of migrants was just phase one of the operation, and will wrap up within one year.

He said that once the data on all migrants are collected and entered into a system, the government will then regularize all undocumented migrants.

Ihusan warned that those who fail to make use of the opportunity will be deported.

However, he stressed that the goal is not to arrest and deport migrants, but to give them a chance to get regularized.