Saudi Arabia: Police bust gang for stealing SR800,000 worth of cables in Riyadh

Cairo: Saudi police have arrested a gang in the capital Riyadh for stealing cables and electricity cutters worth SR800,000, a local security official said today.

The gang of seven Sudanese expatriates had allegedly been involved in 24 robberies targeting warehouses in the city, Major Khaled Al Karidis, an assistant for the Riyadh police, added.

They used to assemble the stolen items in an area in eastern Riyadh to extract copper from them, he said, according to Okaz newspaper.

“Legal procedures have been taken with them to refer them to public prosecution,” the official added.

In a separate incident, police in Riyadh nabbed five African expatriates – four men and a woman - for illegally brewing alcohol inside a house, Major Al Karidis said. Police seized in their possession 81 barrels full of alcohol and production tools, he added.

Alcohol manufacture and sales are strictly banned in Saudi Arabia.