More than 1.25 million foreigners arrested in KSA for flouting residential labour laws

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APP
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Saudi policemen seal off a road in a district north of Riyadh. Photo: Reuters 

More than 1.25 million people were arrested in Saudi Arabia for violating residential, labour and border security regulations during the Kingdom’s months-long campaign, Arab News reported.

The crackdown, which started on November 16 last year and ended on June 14, saw the arrests of 1,251,966 people in the joint security field campaign across the Kingdom.

Those arrested included 931,069 violators of residential regulations, out of which 218,897 were arrested for flouting labour laws and 102,000 violators of border security regulations.

The total number of people arrested attempting to cross the Kingdom’s borders stood at 19,233 people.

Of those arrested, 54 per cent were Yemenis, 43 per cent Ethiopian, and 3 per cent from other nations.

The Kingdom has also arrested 790 people who tried to leave the country illegally.

In addition, 2,167 people who were arrested for harbouring and transporting violators of labour and security border regulations, while 415 citizens were arrested for transporting and sheltering expatriates violating regulations.

Regulatory measures were taken against 388 citizens who were subsequently released.

The number of expatriates currently detained stands at 10,245, including 8,817 men and 1,428 women.

Immediate penalties were imposed on 221,404 violators while 177,329 violators were referred to their respective diplomatic missions for travel documents and 327,034 were deported.