Maldives Immigration has detained 46 undocumented expatriate workers during a large-scale operation conducted on K. Huraa.

The special raid, carried out in collaboration with the Maldives Police Service, took place on Wednesday from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

In a post shared on social media platform 'X' , Immigration confirmed that the individuals taken into custody were residing in Huraa without legal documentation.

However, they did not disclose their nationalities.

The operation is part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on irregular migration, which was launched in 2023.

To date, authorities have deported over 5,000 expatriates from the Maldives as part of this initiative.

As Immigration intensifies efforts to curb illegal migration, the agency has expanded its operations beyond the capital to various atolls.

Reports suggest that many undocumented expatriates have relocated from Malé to outlying islands in an attempt to evade arrest.

Additionally, the Maldives continues to implement ‘Operation Kurangi,’ a program aimed at collecting the biometric data of all expatriates in the country, further strengthening efforts to regulate the foreign workforce.