Massage parlor closure focus intensified, 52 closed: Pres

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced last night that the government has heightened its focus in closing massage parlors that conduct prostitution, and that 52 of them have been shut down.

During the community meeting with Galolhu residents in Male' at Imaduddin School's hall, President Muizzu stated that the police and Maldives Immigration are always working to stop illegal immigrants and their business practices.

As public complaints mounted regarding the massage parlors in Male', an operation was put into motion with Immigration and police cooperating together which began on 9th December, said the President.

"The government has increased its focus regarding the massage parlor issue. We have made the decision to do more work surrounding the matter. Relevant agencies came together to put in more effort and resources which resulted in a special operation that began on 9th December," said President Muizzu.

"We have shut down 52 massage parlors within a short one week period."

The President stated that of the 52 massage parlors that were closed, 24 of them were searched by Immigration's operation. The President also stated that 28 of them were closed by their operators willingly upon learning of the ongoing operation.

A total of 10 expatriates have been detained through the operation, with all of them to be deported, said President Muizzu.

President Muizzu went on to say that such good results are being seen in a short amount of time due to the government acting quickly on citizen's opinions, with the government acknowledging the citizens' opinions and discussing with them moving forward so that more issues can be solved.

President Muizzu said that he sees the opinions of citizens regarding such community issues in a "very positive note". He also said that he will listen to every opinion from every person and that he will take the appropriate action.