Expat held over bid to smuggle compatriots into Saudi Arabia

Cairo: Passport officers manning a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had caught a expat traveller trying to smuggle two compatriots by hiding them inside his car.

The Saudi General Directorate of Passports described the attempt thwarted on the King Fahd Causeway as an illegal bid to smuggle the two into Saudi Arabia.

“Legal procedures were taken against them and they were referred to the competent agency,” the directorate added in a brief statement without giving further details.

The King Fahd Causeway was inaugurated in 1986 and has since been vital for movement between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, two members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Earlier this week, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced rounding up 17,556 illegal foreigners in one week as part of a nationwide campaign against violators of the kingdom’s residency, labour and border security laws.

Twelve other persons were arrested during the crackdown for in-volvement in transporting, sheltering and employing illegal for-eigners, the ministry added.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly warned that those who facilitate the entry of infiltrators into the kingdom, or provide them with transportation, shelter or any sort of assistance face penalties of a maximum of 15 years in prison, and a fine of up to SR1 million, as well as confiscation of the transport and the accommodation means, in addition to naming to shame them.

Saudi Arabia, a country of around 32.2 million people, hosts a large community of migrant workers and has recently unveiled measures to regulate and stimulate the local labour market.

Authorities there are pursuing a high-profile nationwide campaign, dubbed “A country without a violator” targeting irregular expatriates.