Officers said it had combed a number of residential areas in the capital over the last two days and caught more than 90 illegal foreigners of Arab and Asian nationalities who had been promised high salaries during Ramadan.

According to acting spokesman First Lt. Muhammad bin Ali Abdul Rahman, most of those arrested were wanted by police on charges of escaping from their sponsors or illegally staying in the Kingdom.

He said many of them were holding forged iqamas, which contained their pictures but had personal data belonging to other people.

The wages of housemaids increase dramatically during Ramadan, with some of them demanding monthly salaries of up to SR3,500.

Many Saudi families consider the presence of a housemaid during the fasting month unavoidable, as their house chores usually increase.