215 Illegals Arrested at Car Auction

In a surprise raid conducted at the vehicle auction market, police arrested 215 illegal workers buying and selling cars in the Shifa district, some 20 km from the city center.

A Riyadh police officer said the police chose Thursday for inspection as many of these workers are known to come to the auction grounds on this day in order to sell or buy used vehicles.

Those arrested were of different nationalities, but most were Yemenis, Pakistanis and Syrians, the officer said, adding that most of the illegal workers pretended to be the owners of the car showrooms. In fact some of them were running their own showrooms and charging a monthly rental fee from Saudi car owners.

In Riyadh, the police arrested 624 illegals during a period of four days last week, while in the Eastern Province, police arrested more than 100,000 illegal residents in the whole of last year.

On the directive of Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, law enforcement authorities conduct regular inspections like these in order to apprehend illegal workers, and to curb crimes including thefts, sorcery, employing illegal workers, brewing liquor and to prevent people from becoming involved in other illegal activities.

According to official sources, most crimes in the Kingdom are committed by illegal residents who have overstayed their visas. As a result, the government has intensified its campaign against this group. Under an amnesty offered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Illegal residents were allowed to leave the Kingdom by Nov. 1 last year without any penalties.

Police said that they would continue such raids in order to cleanse the capital of illegal workers. Authorities are currently conducting further investigations before the detained are presented in court.

(Source: RIYADH: MD RASOOLDEEN ARAB NEWS)