Saudi Arabia: 19 illegal expats arrested in Riyadh crackdown

Cairo: Saudi labour authorities have arrested 19 expatriates in the capital Riyadh for violating work and residency regulations in the kingdom. The illegals were detected during inspection tours launched by the Riyadh labour office affiliated with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, Saudi online newspaper Sabq reported.

The illegals were found to be self-employed workers in the used furniture business. They have been handed over to the Interior Ministry’s Expatriates Affairs Directorate to be deported from the kingdom, according to the report.

The inspection campaigns in Riyadh aim at ensuring businesses’ compliance with labour regulations including a ban on outdoor work under the sun in summer and laws to employ Saudi nationals, it added.

Forty-three violations have been detected and 29 warnings issued during the field tours, the paper said.

Foreigners make up around 10.5 million of Saudi Arabia’s total population of 34.8 million.