10,000 illegal residents arrested in Madinah, Al-Qassim in a month

Nearly 10,000 illegal residents were arrested in Madinah and Al-Qassim in the last 30 days. Police in Al-Qassim arrested 2,977 people who have been living in the region in violation of the Kingdom's laws. Spokesman for Al-Qassim police, Badr Al-Shuhaibani, said the arrests were made over a period of 30 days. In Madinah, during the same period, police arrested 6,996 people under the same regulations. Madinah police chief Abdul Hadi Al-Shahrani said the operations were carried out with the cooperation of other law enforcement agencies. The arrested included workers without residency permits; persons working jobs not mentioned in their residency permits; those who work for different sponsors; men, who had run away from their sponsors; and vendors hawking their wares at public places without authorization. He pointed out that those arrested have been kept in government custody in prisons and they will be deported after a formal inquiry to ascertain the degree of their respective offenses. He also said that the campaign will continue in the coming weeks to flush out illegal residents from the region. During the operations, the police cordoned off the earmarked areas to block the illegal workers from running away from the scene of the raids. Police conduct regular inspections to apprehend illegal workers to curb crimes such as theft, sorcery, brewing liquor and other illegal activities. According to the official, most crimes in the Kingdom are committed by illegal residents who have overstayed their visas. Consequently, the government has intensified its campaign against such residents. During an amnesty offered by late King Abdullah, illegal residents were allowed to leave the Kingdom without any penalties during a grace period. The Ministry of Interior had earlier advised all illegal expatriates in the Kingdom to correct their work and residency status by the end of the amnesty period on Nov. 1, 2013 or leave the country. Source: Arab News