Seven foreigners have been arrested for buying and selling dollars on the black market.

In a press release issued today, the Immigration Department said that undocumented foreigners are selling dollars on the black market.

They noted that a special operation was conducted on the 9th of this month to identify illegal foreigners who were buying and selling dollars in the black market near the Bank of Maldives ATM in the Starcloud building.

The Immigration said the operation was conducted by the Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Divisions of the Department. A total of seven foreigners were taken into their custody during the operation.

They include foreigners living in the Maldives without valid visas and foreigners working outside the permits issued.

Immigration said the government has been deporting a large number of undocumented immigrants compared to previous years.

The department's main objective is to expand its operations in the future and find a quick solution to the problem of illegal immigrants, he said.