JEDDAH, 14 June 2007 — The Passport Department in Jeddah on Tuesday night arrested three Yemenis in possession of fake identification documents usually handed to Saudi tribesmen by tribal chiefs on the Kingdom’s border with Yemen.
Using their false documents, the three men had been employed as security guards by a major local security guard company and were assigned to stand at a local shopping center located in the city’s Al-Kandra district.
According to police, two of the men — Ali, 22, and Ahmad, 29 — have been working in the Kingdom as security guards for the past four months. The third man — Fahd, 23 — has been in the Kingdom for eight months.
Fahd told police that he bought his ID document from a Saudi tribesman for SR1,500. “I spoke to him over the phone in Yemen before arriving in the Kingdom on an Umrah visa last Ramadan,” he told police, adding that the tribesman, who is allegedly a senior member of a tribal council, was called Mansour.
He also told police that 15 days after arriving in the Kingdom he received his papers and immediately began work as a security guard in a shopping center. He added that he would pay Mansour monthly installments from the salary he received.
Ali and Ahmad said they bought their documents in Yemen prior to arriving in the Kingdom.
Passport Department officials said the documents were forged and that the men’s stories will be investigated. Officials said that companies that employ such men would face prosecution. The three men have confessed to their crimes.
It was also revealed that one of the three men worked for the same Jeddah-based security company whose 18 employees were arrested with false Saudi tribal documents last month. Arab News reported on May 22 that the security guards were working at one of the city’s largest hospitals. The company is currently facing a large fine.
Heads of tribes grant border identification documents to tribesmen that live on the Saudi-Yemeni border while their applications for official Saudi citizenship is processed. Holders of such documents are given priority over other foreigners in jobs and are also eligible to work in jobs that only Saudis can be employed in.
The Passport Department also called on companies to stringently check identification cards when employing people to prevent such cases from occurring in the future.
Meanwhile, the Passport Department on Tuesday night arrested a 37-year-old Indian national, who has been providing people with fake iqamas and arranging jobs for them at hotels. The man, called Hameed, was arrested following a tip-off from an employee at a prominent hotel. Undercover Passport Department officials arranged a meeting with Hameed, who was caught red-handed with fake iqamas in his possession.
A Passport Department officer showed Arab News two forged iqamas found with Hameed. “This one was done poorly and would cost SR100 but the other is a better counterfeit and would be priced at SR500,” he said, adding that the man would take a SR200 commission from hotels for providing employees.
