The ongoing crackdown by the security forces on illegal residents must be commended. The crackdown has so far resulted in the arrest of thousands, including among others criminals, sorcerers, quack doctors, robbers and individuals who have run away from their sponsors.
Many of those apprehended by the police are behind the recent waves of theft and forced entry into peoples’ homes that have been the talk of the town for months now. The raids were conducted following repeated complaints about cases of thefts and armed robberies that have troubled various areas in Jeddah. The raids also targeted factories making and supplying illegal items.
All this is good work on the part of security forces and we appreciate their efforts. At the same time, however, it seems that other major crimes have gone unnoticed. They were committed in broad daylight and under the very noses of every one of us — and yet they have not received the same attention given to crimes involving petty thieves and pickpockets. What am I referring to? I am referring to the millions of riyals that have been stolen because of paid advertisements in the local media. Yet, no one seems to bother with these kinds of crimes which are only discovered when it is too late and only after the damage has been done.
Some crimes are committed in the dead of the night when people are sleeping and so are not vigilant. Other crimes, just as serious, may be committed in broad daylight when members of the public are duped by seemingly innocent and straightforward advertisements in newspapers and on television. The name of the game here is — if you are going to steal, steal as much as possible. Don’t fish for minnows; fish for whales. We all remember the recent media campaign that accompanied the supposed opening of a housing project which promised every one the dream of their life by owning a house of their own. People rushed to put money in the project with many contributing their life’s savings, hoping to solve their housing problem. What happened to the project? It simply evaporated; the entire project and the firm behind it disappeared after the promoter got away with a staggering SR2 billion in cash!
While police continue to crack down on car thieves, mobile phone snatchers and jewelry thieves, will a day come when we see them going after the whales that feast so brazenly without leaving so much as a crumb for the minnows?
