Maldives Immigration has arrested 118 foreigners alleged of doing business illegally in Maldives.

Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shaman Waheed told the press that the foreigners were arrested after Immigration raided 42 locations during an operation to track down illegal immigrants.

As such, Immigration raided six markets, seven retail shops, seventeen take-out locations, three spas, five restaurants, one cafe', and three mobile shops.

Deputy Chief Immigration Officer Mohamed Shifan said efforts were being made to deport those caught during the raids. In addition to them, 1,664 Foreigners were intercepted while trying to enter the country using unverified documents.

He said 1,289 people from 85 countries who tried to enter the Maldives on tourist visas, 341 from 22 countries who tried to enter the Maldives on invalid work permits or work visas, 33 people who tried to enter the Maldives using duplicate documents and one person who tried to enter the country by fraudulent means have been arrested.

Immigration said 356 Bangladeshis, 195 Sri Lankans, 162 Indians, 42 Nigerians, 35 Vietnamese, and 499 other foreign nationals had tried to enter Maldives under a tourist visa had been detained. Additionally, 205 Bangladeshis, 38 Indians, 31 Sri Lankans, 8 Indonesians, six Nigerians, and 54 foreign nationals from other countries were detained for forging visa documents.