COLOMBO, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Maldives Immigration carried out over 200 raids and deported 3,322 undocumented expatriates and individuals with incomplete documentation between Nov. 17, 2023 and Aug. 25, 2024, Mohamed Shamaan Waheed, Controller General of Immigration, said on Wednesday.
This marks a 64.3 percent increase compared to the 2,021 foreigners deported from Jan. 1 to Nov. 16, 2023, Waheed said, adding that among the foreigners deported by the office were a large number of illegal traders and people with incomplete documents.
In May this year, the Maldivian government launched a multi-agency operation to collect biometrics of migrant workers. Maldivian Minister of Homeland Security Ali Ihusan said they will address the long-prevailing issue of illegal migrants within three years. ■
