JEDDAH, 12 June 2008 — Two Pakistani nationals were arrested and charged with theft of iron rods used in construction in Al-Khomra outside Jeddah yesterday. A police patrol found the two driving about the warehouse city in Al-Khomra carrying 20 tons of steel in a truck.
Police allege that the two men tried to bribe the arresting officer with SR500. They also allegedly admitted to the police that they had stolen the iron from various construction sites. One of them did not have residency documents.
In a separate incident, Jeddah police arrested a seven-member gang of Ethiopian nationals, including three women, while investigating a robbery case.
The police were on their trail after a Saudi complained of being robbed of SR21,000 from his car, according to a police officer. The man had collected SR300,000 from his bank in Mosaedia on Madinah Road on Wednesday and locked it in the glove compartment of his car.
Police said an Eritrean identified only as Ordo, who is believed to be the ring leader, pried open the car window with a special apparatus and took SR21,000 cash, which was left on the front seat. He did not get enough time to break open the locked glove compartment.
Meanwhile, customs authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle 2.5 million Captagon pills bound for Jeddah at a border crossing near Tabuk. Police arrested the smuggler’s agent in Jeddah.
