RIYADH: A three member gang which was responsible for chain of robberies was arrested in Yanbu this week.

According to the Madinah police, the gang had been operating both in Yanbu and Jeddah looting shops when they were closed at nights.

The gang comprised a Saudi, an Arab and an Asian expatriate who were jointly operating in these two places. The robbers were in their thirties, the police said.

The police said that the gang was entering the closed shops through their back doors with the help of welding machines.

“The safety lockers were extracted from the shops, unlocked and burnt on the spot to avoid clues,” the police said.

The suspects had confessed to their robberies both in Yanbu and Jeddah and had even demonstrated as to how they were successful in their alleged tasks.

On completion of inquiry, the police is expected to produce the suspects before court for necessary punishment.

According to the police, most of the crimes in the Kingdom are committed by illegal residents who have overstayed in the Kingdom. Consequently , the government has intensified its campaign against the residents who have overstayed their visas.

The security authorities conduct regular inspections to apprehend illegal workers to curb crimes such as thefts, sorcery , employing illegal workers, brewing liquor and preventing them from getting involved in nefarious activities.

Madinah district police chief Maj. Gen. Abdul Hadi Al-Shahrani said his department conducts field inspections from time to time to flush out the expatriates who stay illegally in the Kingdom.

The police chief also said that the raids are carried out with the cooperation of all the other relevant government agencies, who were involved in maintaining the local regulations.

Those who are nabbed under the program included workers without resident permits, persons whose professions mentioned in their resident permits do not match their current jobs, those who work for different sponsors, workers who had run away from their respective sponsors and also illegal vendors hawking at public market places.