The government’s labor correction campaign has reduced crime by 11 percent because of the deportation of thousands of criminals, a security official at Makkah police said recently.

Col. Badr Al-Saud, director of media relations at the Makkah police department, said the government deported 98,120 male and female expatriates via King Abdul Aziz International Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port.

Al-Saud said the government deported 65,000 Ethiopians and 33,000 persons of other nationalities for violating the country’s laws, including women and children. “About 3,000 to 3,500 violators are deported on a daily basis,” he said.

“There are still about 8,000 violators at the Public Service Center in Al-Shumaisi. This includes 2,250 Pakistanis, 1,800 Indonesians and 1,000 Somalis,” Al-Saud said.

He said crime rates dropped by 11 percent in November compared to the same period last year following the security crackdown. “This drop clearly indicates that the violators posed a threat to the country’s security.”

He said several arrested persons faced various charges including cheating, bribery and fraud, while others were wanted by Interpol. He said the criminals included intruders, those who overstayed their Umrah and Haj visas, and residents working for persons other than their sponsors.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Province security forces arrested 8,980 violators over the past few days for breaking labor and residency laws. In a statement, the Eastern Province police said they were working with other security agencies, the passports department, and the region’s prisons authority, to arrest illegal workers.