The police in the Baha region arrested 1,267 foreign workers for violating the local regulations last month.

The media spokesman for Al-Baha region police, Col. Saad bin Saleh Al-Tarrad, said the arrested were among those workers who have breached the iqama (resident permit) regulations and others who have violated the labor regulations of the Kingdom.

Breach of labor regulations include working for employers not mentioned in the iqama, workers who have overstayed their Haj or Umrah visas, and workers who are wanted by the authorities for various crimes committed in the past. Expatriate workers are expected to renew their resident certificates in time and those who fail to renew them will be subject to severe penalties.

Al-Tarrad said the arrested violators were handed over to the competent authorities to take relevant actions against them. Following the completion of their sentence after judgment, such workers are deported to their home countries at the expense of the government.

The spokesman said the police in Baha would continue to carry out similar operations in all parts of the region to get rid of the workers who are staying illegally in the Kingdom.

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 involving in nefarious activities.

According to official sources, most crimes in the Kingdom are committed by illegal residents who have overstayed their visas. As a result, the government has intensified its campaign against the residents who have overstayed their visas.

During the amnesty period offered by the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, illegal residents were allowed to leave the Kingdom without any penalties during the grace period.

The Ministry of Interior had earlier advised all illegal expatriates in the Kingdom to correct their work and residency status following the end of the amnesty period on Nov. 1, 2013 or leave the country.

The sources pointed out those arrested will be investigated, and subjected to fines and repatriation depending on the nature of their respective cases.