Officers said they suspect the Yemenis to have targeted 15 shops.
“These thieves entered the Kingdom illegally about year ago and since that time they have committed 15 burglaries, all taking place during night,” said First Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq of Jeddah police.
“They used a special key that could bypass any lock, except those made with steel usually used by gold shops,” he added.
According to Al-Bouq, the thieves coordinated the burglaries by working in pairs.
One pair would distract the guards, another would break in and the rest would steal the goods, he said.
“What they would do is observe their target for days before breaking in. They even posed as people looking for jobs at a company, when they were really collecting information about the layout of the floor,” said Al-Bouq.
The suspects have reportedly confessed to 10 burglaries, although fingerprint evidence link them to all 15, police said.
The seven Yemenis were immediately referred to the Criminal Investigation Division, which will look into their case.
