Photo credit: Maldive Voice
Five foreigners have been taken into custody from coffee shops by Maldives Immigration during an operation to find foreigners residing illegally in the Maldives.
Raajje mv reports that the immigration revealed that the expatriates were taken into custody during a raid operation conducted by the Task Force specifically targeting coffee shops in the capital Male City on Saturday.
The Immigration stated that during the raid, six establishments operating as coffee shops were inspected.
Five people were arrested.
Immigration raids are currently targeting areas with a large foreign presence.
While the Task Force has conducted many operations targeting illegal foreigners, Immigration says operations in the Greater Male Region (GMR) have been successful so far.
The latest statistics released by Immigration reveal that more than 1,300 places have been inspected in the operations conducted so far. A total of 5,012 foreigners have been deported, so far.
Among them are those who were staying without valid visas and those who have committed multiple crimes, including those involved in drug-related issues, theft, and prostitution.
Immigration says that under Operation Kurangi, which is being carried out to collect information on foreigners to find a permanent solution to the issue of illegal foreigners in the Maldives. Biometric data of over 18,000 foreigners have been collected so far.
