DAMMAM, 17 April 2007 — The Passport Department yesterday arrested at least 733 illegal residents in the Eastern Province and Jeddah.
More than 350 overstayers were arrested in several raids in Dammam and neighboring areas.
“We arrested 10 families consisting of 95 members in Dammam. These included men, women and children. They came to the Kingdom on a GCC visa, which expired three years ago, and were begging,” said Col. Yusuf ibn Abdullah Al-Assaf, head of the Passport Department in the Eastern Province. He added that some of the families were without male guardians.
Turki Al-Jalaud, the police officer who led the raids in Alkhobar, said they managed to arrest 200 overstayers in the city alone. Many of those arrested lived with their families. The department also cooperated with police in Abqaiq where 55 people of different nationalities were arrested.
Meanwhile, passport officials arrested 383 overstayers in an early-morning raid in the Al-Ruhali district in northern Jeddah yesterday. Passport chief Capt. Yasser Al-Shaer said his department was going to summon employers and landlords who sheltered the illegal residents.
Gen. Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Hamaidi, head of the Passport Department in the Eastern Province, said, “We carry out a lot of efforts to round up overstayers. I call on the public to cooperate with the authorities in reporting overstayers.”
— With input by Samir Al-Saadi
