Over 15,000 arrested in a week in Saudi Arabia for residency, work and border violations

Dubai: The Saudi Ministry of Interior has announced the arrest of 15,201 individuals who violated residency, work and border security regulations within a week, from September 28 to October 4, 2023.

The Ministry detailed that out of the total violators caught, 9,233 were for violations of the residency system, 4,271 for border security system violations, and 1,697 for labour law violations.

There were 527 individuals caught attempting to cross into the Kingdom irregularly. Among these, 55 per cent were Yemeni nationals, 43 per cent Ethiopians, and two per cent of other nationalities. Additionally, 66 individuals were arrested for trying to leave the Kingdom irregularly.

Fourteen individuals were apprehended for involvement in transporting, sheltering, and employing those violating the regulations.

There are currently 44,462 detainees, including 36,713 men and 7,749 women, undergoing procedures for violating regulations.

The Ministry reported that 39,218 violators were referred to their respective diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, 1,748 were in the process of completing travel reservations, and 8,058 were deported.

Penalties for those aiding violators include up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to one million riyals, and confiscation of used transport and housing.

The ministry emphasized that aiding violators is a serious crime and urged the public to report violations at the numbers (911) in Mecca, Riyadh, and the Eastern regions, and (999) and (996) in the rest of the Kingdom’s regions.