RIYADH, 26 November 2007 — Five Saudis aged between 18 and 28 have been arrested in connection with the murder of an expatriate taxi driver south of the capital, police announced yesterday.
The youths are also suspected of carrying out a number of thefts in the city. Police said they had received a call from an expatriate resident who reported that he had found a cab driver dead in his car. A special investigation unit set up to investigate the case arrested the five youths.
“During interrogation, which was done in the presence of a member of the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority (GIPA), one of the gang members confessed that he had killed the cab driver,” a police statement said.
The man confessed that he lured the cab driver into a remote area and stabbed him several times with the help of his accomplices.
Further investigations revealed that the gang was involved in several other crimes in which taxi drivers were lured to remote locations and forced to hand over money in their possession. All five gang members are currently in custody awaiting trial.
Riyadh police also said yesterday that they had arrested three Saudi nationals for stealing a laptop from a pedestrian and attempting to rob a store.
The three locals tried to unsuccessfully rob a shop but were fought off by a shop attendant. The suspects then fled the scene, but the shop owner was able to record the plate number of their vehicle.
The gang then snatched a laptop from a 24-year-old pedestrian in Al-Bedia district of the city.
Police were able to link both incidents from the descriptions of the suspects and their vehicle. The car owner, a Saudi aged 24, confessed to both crimes after he was arrested.
He also told police the names of his accomplices. Police said they found an undisclosed quantity of drugs in the possession of the suspects.
Meanwhile, a gang of six Saudis, aged between 28 and 40, were recently arrested in the capital for mugging both Saudis and expatriates. Several police stations across the capital had received complaints from people that had been robbed of their cell phones and wallets.
The men’s descriptions, as well as the description of their car, were circulated to police patrol units. Police were able to halt a vehicle matching the description. On searching the car and its occupants, they found several stolen cell phones and a knife.
In another development, the Cassation Court in Riyadh approved lower court rulings sentencing two foreigners to 10 years in jail and 400 lashes for practicing black magic. The two Africans had extorted significant amounts of money from people saying they could do black magic.
The two men were arrested in a police raid on their home following a tip-off.
