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

Despite laws prohibiting expatriates from working as shopkeepers or vendors, many market stalls are operated by foreign nationals.

Early Saturday morning, police conducted a raid on these markets.

A police spokesperson clarified that the joint operation with Immigration aimed to apprehend illegal migrants.

Those identified by the police were transferred to Immigration custody, although no arrests were made during the raid.

Illegal migration has been a persistent challenge in the Maldives.

The Home Ministry has launched a comprehensive crackdown under the initiative 'Kurangi' in early May.

The first phase of the operation, inaugurated in Himmafushi, involves the meticulous collection of biometric data, including fingerprints and photographic identification, from migrant workers and over 1500 migrants’data have been collected so far.