According to Maldives Immigration, ten foreigners were apprehended on Tuesday in Male' City during a coordinated operation aimed at those illegally employed in the Maldives.

The operation conducted this morning included searches at nine cafes throughout the capital. Immigration stated that the apprehensions were carried out as part of continuous initiatives to tackle the enduring problem of undocumented migrants employed in commercial businesses.

The task force, made up of Immigration, Police, the Homeland Security Ministry, and the Economic Ministry, has been carrying out a range of coordinated enforcement actions in recent weeks. Twenty-seven undocumented migrants were apprehended in a similar operation on the evening of July 5.

The campaign is a segment of the third phase of Operation Kurangi, initiated by the Homeland Security Ministry on May 9 to detect and gather data on foreigners employed without valid documentation in the Male' area.

In May, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced that over 12,000 irregular immigrants had been deported by the government since he assumed office. He pointed out that biometrics have been gathered from 206,400 people, while data is still missing for about one percent of non-citizens.