Jeddah police have arrested 13 expatriates for allegedly impersonating contractors at the National Water Company (NWC) and providing water connections to homes without the company’s permission in exchange for money.

The expats are from Yemen and Egypt and have been living in the Kingdom in violation of the country’s residency and labor regulations, said an official NWC source.

“They exploited people’s ignorance by convincing them that they are contractors working for the NWC and gave people haphazard and substandard water connections,” the source said.

The NWC conducted a survey after receiving information about people getting illegal water connections through unauthorized agents.

“Such illegal activity affects the water supply network,” the source said.

The source said that the NWC would impose the strictest punishment on such impersonators as per the Kingdom’s laws and would not show any leniency toward violators.

“We will transfer the arrested expats to the Labor Ministry and the Passport Department for punitive action,” the source said.