The reappearance of land thieves has been reported at a time when the concerned authorities are struggling to tackle encroachments. They are currently concentrated outside the residential areas of Makkah and Jeddah, precisely in the desert regions close to Shumaisy checkpoint.

Several citizens have incurred losses as a result of illegally buying from these thieves government land or land that belongs to others, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported.

Speaking to the newspaper, Abdullah Al-Ahmari, chairman of the Real Estate Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said land thieves were active in regions outside residential areas. “These unscrupulous people lure citizens to buy plots of land apparently at much cheaper rates. They are successful in convincing their victims that spending up to SR10,000 will enable them to earn huge profits. Some of the victims try to own the land, while others try to resell them,” he said.

According to Al-Ahmari, land grabbers are the first and last beneficiaries of such illegal transactions. “When they are successful in selling the plots at a township, they move to other townships, leaving those who bought the plots in numerous troubles, mainly legal disputes with the authorities and the subsequent eviction,” he said.

Al-Ahmari blamed the citizens who buy these plots for such a scenario. “The recklessness on the part of citizens to buy land without original title deeds helps these thieves to continue their illegal practice. If citizens were not ready to buy land illegally, these thieves would be nowhere,” he said while urging citizens not to buy plots of land that do not have original title deeds. He noted that such plots could be either government properties or belong to other people.

“Those involved in such illegal transactions face punitive action for violating public rights,” he said while underlining the need for exerting efforts to rein in land grabbers.

Al-Ahmari also called on the media not to publish advertisements about the sale of properties without verifying their credibility and original title deeds.

Meanwhile, prominent lawyer and legal consultant Nazya Mousa urged intervention from the authorities to stop the illegal sale of government land and exploitation of citizens. The authorities should also impose restrictions to publish advertisements about the sale of land without original title deeds and other valid documents. “These land grabbers are cheating mainly poor citizens with limited income. These citizens are eager to buy land to construct houses, taking advantage of the royal decree to increase personal loans extended by the Real Estate Development Fund to SR500,000,” he said.

Incidents of protests and skirmishes have been reported when members of the concerned government committees tried to evict citizens from encroachments in some parts in the Kingdom.