JEDDAH, 28 September 2006 — Authorities raided over a thousand houses across seven Jeddah districts on Tuesday arresting more than 800 people of different nationalities in relation to various crimes including forgery, drug-dealing, car theft, burglary and bootlegging.
Police officers are also following leads gathered from 10 expatriates who are thought to be part of larger criminal networks. Some of the foreigners arrested were said to be involved in forging documents, selling stolen goods in markets across Jeddah and selling drugs in districts located in the city’s southern parts.
Involved in the raids were police officers, members of the Special Forces, Passport Department officials, members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Saudi Red Crescent volunteers and technicians from the Saudi Electricity Company. Security teams surrounded the neighborhoods and closed all entry and exit points to prevent suspects from escaping.
Many of those arrested were already wanted by police in relation to other serious crimes. A large quantity of needles and hidden stashes of cash were also found in many of the homes of those arrested. Police suspect that the money was either stolen or the profit made from selling drugs and stolen goods. Police also discovered houses that were turned into factories to package out-of-date products for reselling in the market.
Brig. Gen. Misfer Al-Zuhami led the operation against the overstayers after receiving reports of suspicious activities taking place in those neighborhoods. Police officers had received reports that many criminals would gather in the raided neighborhoods to carryout illegal activities.
“We will contact the building owners to tell them that overstayers were found there and that illegal activities have been taking place in their buildings. Arrested overstayers will be sent to the Passport Department for investigation. Those found guilty will face deportation,” said a police source.
“The police campaign will help in reducing the number of crimes which cost the country more than SR4 billion a year,” he said, adding: “The security campaigns are very important because they coincide with the Umrah season.”
According to criminal investigation officials, a lot of forgery takes place during the Umrah season. “These criminals take advantage of more than two million pilgrims coming to the country to market foreign products to them and sell them rotten food. According to statistics released by the Committee for Awareness Against Commercial Forgery, Saudi companies and legal agencies lost SR300 million because of forgery last year.”
A social scientist called on citizens and expatriates living in the country legally to play a greater role in detecting violations and reporting them to the police. He called for more cooperation between police and citizens to curb the rising cases of crime.
According to a police source, more security campaigns will take place with the cooperation of other departments. “We will raid suspicious places and will crack down on them,” he added.
