Saudi Arabia nabs 2.6mln illegals in 15 months

RIYADH — The Nation Free of Violators campaign, which was launched Kingdom-wide by the Ministry of Interior, on Nov. 15, 2017, has nabbed as many as 2,666,916 expatriates until Thursday.

Campaign officials said 674,952 of the detained violators were deported to their respective home countries.

They said 2,078,375 expatriates were arrested for violating the system of residency, 407,966 for violating labor regulations and 180,575 for breaching border security.

As many as 45,022 foreigners were caught trying to sneak into the Kingdom through its southern border. About 51 percent of the infiltrators were Yemenis and 46 percent Ethiopians.

The officials said 1,907 people were caught while attempting to sneak out of the country illegally.

According to the officials, 3,403 people were charged with providing accommodation and transport to a number of illegal expatriates. They included 1,095 Saudis, of whom 1,070 were punished and released while 25 others are still being investigated.

As many as 11,525 expatriates are currently being held in various detention centers in the country. They consisted of 10,132 men and 1,393 women.

The officials said 365,397 illegal expatriates were referred to their concerned embassies and consulates to obtain them travel documents while 455,098 were completing their travel procedures, including flight bookings.