The arrested also included forgers of residence permits.
Brig. Misfar Al-Talaily, director for patrols at the department in Makkah Province, said the operations were conducted in collaboration with the police.
“A remarkable achievement of our patrols in April was the arrest of an Asian expatriate who bought stolen passports and iqamas and used the details to forge other passports and residence documents from scratch so he could sell them on,” he said.
He added that he would then sell the fake passports at SR1,400 apiece.
He said the Passport Department raided his hideout after an investigation into the man’s operations.
Earlier this year, Jeddah Gov. Mishaal bin Majed urged the Jeddah Passport Department to double its efforts in offering better services to the public.
On that occasion Brig. Salem Al-Zahrani, the department’s director in Makkah province, submitted a report to the prince about his branch’s achievements, including the number of expatriates arriving and leaving by air and sea in Jeddah.
