Saudi Arabia: Over 15k ‘illegal’ residents arrested in one week

Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) arrested 15,076 violators of residency, labour and border security laws across the nation between December 16 to December 22, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday, December 25, 2021.

Those arrested include 7,777 violators of the residency laws, around 5,375 violators of the border security regulations, and further 1,924 violators of the labour law.

A total of 208 people were arrested while trying to cross the border into the Kingdom, of whom 64 per cent were Yemeni nationals, 28 percent were Ethiopians, and 8 per cent belonged to other nationalities while 34 people were arrested for trying to flee the Kingdom crossing borders.

The security forces also arrested 27 people who were involved in transporting violators and giving them shelter.

The total number of offenders currently, subject to punitive measures, reached more than 92,304, including more than 83,125 men and 9,179 women, while the cases of 81,670 offenses were referred to their diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents for deportation.

The ministry of interior has warned that a maximum prison sentence of 15 years will be imposed on anyone caught facilitating someone entering the kingdom, in violation of border security regulations, or shelter.

The punishment includes a fine of up to 1 million Saudi Riyal, and the confiscation of one’s means of transport, residence used for shelter, in addition to the publication of their names in the local media.