Over 100,000 illegal workers arrested in EP in past year

Over 100,000 illegal foreign workers have been arrested in the Eastern Province over the last 12 months, police announced Tuesday. A total of 101,302 people were arrested during the period across the Eastern Province, said Col. Ziyad Al-Ruqaiti, spokesman for Eastern Province police. He added that the police were supported in the operation by local municipalities and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. As part of the mass campaign to arrest illegally resident foreign workers, the authorities searched workers’ camps, construction sites, retail outlets and public places to apprehend violators of the Kingdom’s immigration laws. Those arrested were of various nationalities and employed in different types of work. Most of the arrests took place in Dammam, Al-Thuqba, Al-Ahsa and Hafr Al-Batin. Al-Ruqaiti said the authorities are committed to continuing the clampdown on foreigners living in the Kingdom illegally, adding that there are still many people living in the Kingdom illegally. During an amnesty offered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah last year, the Ministry of Interior gave illegally resident foreigners the opportunity to rectify their resident status and issued warnings that anyone found living in the Kingdom after the grace period would be penalized. Foreigners found in the Kingdom without the proper documentation face arrest, detention and subsequent deportation; those wanted in relation to crimes are brought before court and subsequently sentenced. Arab News