JEDDAH, 21 August — Security officers in Jeddah are trying to track down members of an organized crime racket that specializes in selling stolen iqamas and passports. They have identified Bab Sharif, Bab Makkah, Saheefa Market and taxi stands as the areas most commonly used by the syndicate, which is believed to be run by Somalis.
Intelligence officers at the Passport Department said the criminal group has been selling the stolen iqamas and passports to illegal expatriates, including those who have left their sponsors.
Three Somalis have so far been arrested. Items in their possession seized include 13 driving licenses, five stamps of the Passport Department and the district chief, four iqamas and a Saudi ID card.
The three admitted that they have been engaged in criminal activity for six months, saying they had stolen the iqamas and passports and bought the stamps for SR500 each.
Arab News has learned that a number of African expatriate workers, especially Somalis, have become increasingly involved in pick-pocketing at crowded areas such as mosques and market places, and on public transport.
They steal iqamas and passports and resell them for between SR300 and SR1,000.
They charge even higher prices, up to SR2,000, when they sell the documents back to their rightful owners.
Meanwhile, the Passport Department has decided that all new passports issued to Saudis will be protected by magnetic bar codes. Lt. Col. Fahd Al-Dakkan, director of public affairs at the department, said the new passport would also make it more difficult to alter the personal information contained within it.
Dakkan said the department has not yet fixed a date for issuing new iqamas, in the style of an ID card, to expatriates in place of iqama booklets.
In a separate development, the Passport Department in Ahsa arrested 18 illegal aliens, including overstayers, and violators of iqama and labor rules. Capt. Khaled Al-Hamley, assistant director of the department for expatriates, said the illegals will be questioned before they are handed over to the deportation department.
