RIYADH, 9 April 2005 — Security officials in Riyadh arrested four busloads of Asian nationals in a continuing crackdown on overstayers in the city. Those arrested included Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Indians and Sri Lankans who did not have iqamas, or were working or doing businesses illegally.
The raid was conducted in Sumaisi district which is known as “Islamabad” because of the large concentration of Pakistani workers. Police combed the area, flushing out criminals and illegal workers from shops and restaurants.
Officials from Riyadh Governorate, the Municipality, Department of Call and Guidance, Police and Passport Department formed the joint task force which took part in the raid in Sumaisi, the second district after Batha to be targeted for a clean-up operation.
“We are targeting people without proper documents for their stay in the Kingdom and those who are working for employers who are not their sponsors,” a security official said.
The officials found thousands of pirated CDs including pornographic videos, firearms, computers used for illegal phone calls and bottles of locally manufactured liquor during the operation.
According to an eyewitness, the security officials did not enter family apartments during their search respecting the privacy of expatriate families. “Some of those who had come to the Kingdom on Haj and Umrah visas were nabbed during the raid,” he said.
In Malaz, police found a liquor den which was being run as a private establishment under the pretext of supplying bottled water. When police raided the place, heaps of bottles containing liquor were found stacked up on the premises and vehicles parked outside to transport them to various points. The security officials arrested the staff of the establishment and seized distillery equipment and a large quantity of illicit liquor.
Last week in Batha, a Pakistani in possession of six kg of heroin and an Indian with 3.5 kg of hashish were taken into custody, while five expatriates, including three Filipinos, were arrested for sodomy. The security officials also seized three million pornographic CDs, a huge quantity of military uniforms, along with illegal phone and fax devices.
