During an operation to find illegal immigrants in the Maldives, 60 foreign workers fled to R. Maduvvari when they learned that immigration was coming to Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa in R. Atoll.
During an operation to find illegal immigrants in the Maldives, 60 foreign workers fled to R. Maduvvari when they learned that immigration was coming to Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa in R. Atoll.
An official from R. Maduvvari Council said today that the foreign workers left by speedboats after learning that the Labor Relations Authority was coming to Emerald Resort to collect information about illegal immigrants. He said the council learned about one group arriving at Maduvvari through the police.
"R. Fasmendhoo, Emerald Island Resort has been operating with illegal immigrants with the knowledge of all previous governments. They've been operating this way since 2002, bringing in such people without any background checks," the official said.
"Early yesterday morning, we received information that foreign workers from the resort were going to uninhabited and inhabited islands via launches. About 60 foreigners came to this island."
According to the council, only 19 of the 60 foreigners who came to Maduvvari have been found so far. The official said they were sent back to the resort after delays in getting clear instructions from relevant authorities about how to handle them.
The remaining foreigners from the group of 60 have not yet been found.
"We worked hard with various government agencies to figure out what to do with these foreigners. When we received no response, we sent them back," the official said.
The council said they are continuing to search for the rest of the foreigners who came to the island. They are reportedly staying in rented accommodations with help from other foreigners already on the island.
In the wake of the escape of a large number of foreigners who were staying at a resort illegally, immigration officials said they are investigating the matter in coordination with the police.
The council has urged islanders to report to the council if anyone sees these foreigners or has information about them. They have also urged island residents not to hide any of these foreigners inside their homes.
The "Kurangi" operation to collect biometric information from all foreigners in the Maldives and regulate illegal foreign workers began on May 2nd last year.
So far, the operation has collected biometric information from 25,483 people.
In this immigration operation targeting illegal foreigners in the Maldives, more than 5,000 foreigners were deported. This included people running extensive businesses and those staying without valid visas.
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