JEDDAH, 27 November 2006 — Police arrested 276 overstayers in a post-midnight operation on Saturday targeting Al-Sabeel neighborhood in south Jeddah.
Authorities said they have changed their strategy to focus on one neighborhood at a time, rather than simultaneous operations in a number of districts. This will help them to have more personnel involved in each action.
“The massive raids were confusing due to the large amount of manpower needed,” said the officer. “Now with lesser ground to cover we are more focused and precise. We are expecting better results.”
He mentioned that the new strategy might increase the number of raids that take place over time.
Police said that eight houses were involved in the latest operation. Seven of the people caught in the dragnet were charged with crimes, including drug and alcohol possession and carrying forged immigration documents.
“Four of the arrested are suspected of committing crimes in the past,” said one officer who did not want to be named. “We will have to wait for fingerprints examination to determine if there is evidence to formally press charges.”
Police have been performing near weekly security operations under their current strategy for nearly three years. As a result of the sweeps, thousands of overstayers have been arrested and deported.
About 10,000 overstayers were captured in the lunar month of Shawwal in Makkah alone, according to the regional office of the Passport Department.
