JEDDAH, 28 April 2005 — Police arrested more than 1,000 people in a raid on an area of the Karantina district of south Jeddah on Tuesday. Among those taken into custody were criminals and overstayers including a gang of beggars composed of women and children.
During the operation, the police confiscated large quantities of drugs, stolen cars, speed pills, fake iqamas and many other stolen items. Teams from the police, special forces, the traffic department, the fire department, the Saudi Red Crescent and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice conducted the raid in response to numerous complaints from people living in the area.
The raid began when the police surrounded the area and blocked all exit and entry points. The blockade and the operation lasted for several hours during which police went into a number of houses and searched the entire area. The special anti-drug squad arrested a number of overstayers who are suspected criminals.
In one house large quantities of drugs including hashish were found. A large amount of food well past its expiration date was also found. Many of the overstayers confessed to begging on the street and selling expired food. Most of them came to the Kingdom on Umrah visas and stayed on in search of jobs. The overstayers were taken away on buses belonging to the passport department.
A large number of stolen cars and other items were also found. The police have said that all Saudis who had rented accommodation to the overstayers will be subject to a fine of SR10,000. The Saudi Electricity Company will cut off the power to houses in which overstayers were living.
Saudis living in the area expressed their satisfaction about the police raid which came after a series of similar operations in both Riyadh and Jeddah.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour Al-Turki, however, told Arab News that the raids were not connected to the raids in Riyadh. He said they were normal procedures to enforce law and order.
