Over 13,000 arrested in crackdown on illegals
By a Staff Writer
JEDDAH, 29 April — Saudi police have arrested more than 9,100 foreigners in a crackdown on illegal residents in the northern region during the past one year.
Some 9,149 men and women were arrested in the Hafer Al-Batin region, 500 km north of Riyadh, Al-Youm newspaper said in a report yesterday.
Another 1,274 expatriates were picked up around the northwestern holy city of Madinah. Many of the illegals had failed to leave the Kingdom after their pilgrimage visas expired.
Security authorities arrested about 2,750 overstayers and violators of iqama regulations in a recent crackdown in Makkah Region. Capt. Yahya Al-Qahtani of the Makkah police said more than 150 illegal aliens were arrested in Bahra and Harazat, east of Jeddah, alone. Some 40 patrol police officers took part in the operation.
Col. Ali Al-Qurashi, commander of the Passport Department patrol police, said the operation was part of the department's efforts to flush out overstayers and other illegal foreigners from the country.
The authorities regularly announce the arrests of mainly Arab and Asian Muslim nationals who arrive in the Kingdom to perform pilgrimage, but then choose to remain there in breach of visa regulations.
Illegal immigrants are deported while landlords renting accommodations to them face prison terms and fines.
There are around seven million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. The government has launched a campaign to reduce the number by hiking fees on recruitment and offering incentives for nationals to replace foreign labor in the private sector.
arabnews.com
SHOULDN'T THE U.N Intervene in this atrocity, They called out the U.S. when we wanted to stop illegal immigration...
WHERE IS KOFFI now? |
