Maldives Immigration has detained 51 irregular expatriate workers during a large-scale joint operation in Dhuvaafaru, the second largest island in Raa Atoll, held in collaboration with the Maldives Police Service.

The operation took place on Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., according to a statement released by Immigration. 

Authorities questioned and screened over 100 expatriate workers as part of the raid, ultimately detaining more than 50 individuals. 

This raid is part of a broader nationwide crackdown on undocumented migration, which began in 2023. 

So far, over 6,000 expatriates have been deported under the program.

In parallel, the government is pushing forward with Operation Kurangi, an initiative to register the biometric data of all expatriates in the Maldives. 

As of March 19, over 100,000 expatriates, including 65,000 in the Greater Malé region, have had their data collected since the program’s launch on May 2, 2024.

The Ministry of Homeland Security has stated that Operation Kurangi is expected to provide a long-term solution to issues related to irregular migration in the Maldives.