TAIF, 1 March — A group of beggars, mostly overstaying foreigners, opened fire against officers of the anti-begging department here on Tuesday during a raid on their hide-out on the Souta mountain, 18 kilometers south of Taif city.
An official source at the department told Arab News that the officers raided the hideout after receiving a tip-off, which said that a large number of beggars were camping at the place. At least 100 foreigners, who were staying in the Kingdom without proper documents, were arrested in the operation.
“The officers arrested nine beggars during the initial operation,” the source said. The overstayers started firing at the officials when they returned to the area to round up the rest of the gang members, the source added.
The officers found the camp equipped with all basic facilities. Authorities seized a large amount of cash hoarded in different locations inside the camp. The illegals have been handed over to concerned authorities and will be deported once the investigations are over.
Officials from the anti-begging department arrested another group of foreigners who resorted to begging. They disguised themselves as impoverished Saudi nationals.
This brings the total number of beggars arrested during this Haj season to 332 — a 70 percent increase over last year. The beggars included 193 men, 76 women and 63 children.
The anti-begging department in Jeddah, meanwhile, arrested an expatriate beggar who had collected SR13,300 from unsuspecting philanthropists in the city.
Saad Al-Shahrani, director of the Jeddah branch of the department, told Arab News that the man, who came on an Umrah visa, was arrested while begging in front a shopping center.
“We will investigate the source of the money,” Al-Shahrani said.
The number of beggars in the Makkah region is growing despite the government’s efforts to flush them out from the country. The beggars enter the Kingdom on the pretext of performing Haj or Umrah and then stay back in Makkah or move on to Jeddah, Taif and other towns on the outskirts of the holy city.
