Cairo: Police in Riyadh had arrested an expatriate for illegally employing and accommodating 17 female expatriates, reported to have absented themselves from their official workplaces, Saudi media reported.
The male suspect, an Egyptian national, had harboured the absentees in a housing unit in Riyadh in violation of law.
They all were arrested and referred to public prosecution, police said, without giving further details.
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry 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.
In recent months, Saudi Arabia, which hosts a large community of migrant workers, has intensified a crackdown on violators of its labour, residency and border security laws.
Last week, Saudi authorities arrested two citizens for transporting and sheltering illegal expatriates in the south-western region of Asir.
A spokesman for Asir police said transportation and accommodation of violators of the border security rules is a major, dishonouring crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a hefty fine.
Saudi Arabia earlier this month said it had arrested 15,328 illegal expatriates in one week.
The arrests, made over the period from December 22 to 28, included 8,808 violators of the kingdom’s residency system, 4,038 more violators of the border security rules and 2,482 others who breached the labour regulations.
During the same period, authorities arrested 10 persons for involvement in transporting and sheltering violators of residency, border and work regulations.
