Saudi Arabia: 8 illegal residents held in Riyadh over robberies
Suspects targeted building material, and robbed passers-by at gun point
Cairo: Saudi police said they had arrested in Riyadh eight illegal residents accused of stealing vehicles and using them in robberies.
The eight illegal residents had stolen two vehicles and used them in robbing under-construction buildings, building materials and possessions of their guards, the police added in a statement.
The suspects – all Syrian nationals – are also accused of robbing passers-by at gunpoint and selling the stolen items at secondhand goods markets.
The two vehicles were retrieved and the suspects were referred to public prosecution, according to the statement.
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Saudi Arabia, a country of around 32.2 million people, is home to a large community of expatriate workers.
Saudi authorities have recently made arrests in connection to different cases of law-breaking and violence.
Earlier this month, police said they had arrested a number of Bangladeshi expatriates for public violence in Riyadh.
The police said the offenders had appeared in a video clip quarrelling with each other in a public place due to an unspecified dispute.
In October, Saudi police said they had arrested six women who had appeared in a video engaged in a fistfight in a public place. The arrests were made in the city of H’ail in north-western Saudi Arabia.
A video going viral on social media showed several women involved in a brawl at a coffee shop. The females were seen in the footage exchanging fists and kicks as workers watched in astonishment.
Also that month, the Riyadh police said they had arrested an unspecified number of people suspected of involvement in a car hit-and-shooting incident in Al Kharj governorate south east of the Saudi capital. The violence, due to an unspecified row, left two dead and two others wounded.
Late last year, Saudi police said they had arrested 10 Yemeni expatriates involved in a mass brawl that had left two persons injured in Riyadh.