YANBU: Security officers in Yanbu discovered a large quantity of stolen construction materials they believe were taken away by a 35-member gang of foreign workers from a housing complex in Aqeefa residential district.
The gang members had allegedly kept their loot in the housing facility of a cleaning company where they worked.
“The robbed items were found with three Asian workers. They included copper cables, aluminum and plumbing materials as well as two weighing machines that were used to weigh the robbed materials to sell them,” a security official said.
The official said police were still searching for the head of the gang, who managed to run away.
Twenty-six members of the gang have allegedly confessed their crimes during interrogation while six others rejected the charges.
Arab News earlier reported that police arrested the gang within 24 hours after their crime. The thieves had created a 200-meter long hole to remove electric cables and plumbing materials worth SR1.5 million from the housing complex.
Security officers led by Col. Yaaqub Al-Hashmi succeeded in arresting most members of the gang soon after the incident. Some gang members were arrested with the help of information provided by other members.
Some citizens have urged authorities to implement the Shariah punishment (chopping off hands) on the robbers in order to serve as a deterrent for others.
“We have seen foreign workers involved in various crimes in different parts of the country. Deterrent punishments should be given to stop these crimes,” one Saudi said.
Some members of the gang told investigators that the cleaning company for which they are working did not pay their salaries for the last three months. They said they were getting only SR200 monthly and were forced into the crime to survive.
