RIYADH: The Traffic Department in Riyadh booked 200 young drifters and their fans on Saturday morning following a raid in the Thumama area.

The joint operation was conducted by the department’s intelligence and investigations divisions. The police arrested fans in the targeted area and found that most of them were wanted by security and traffic police for previous violations.

According to police, the authorities received a tip that young men had gathered in the area at midnight to perform driving stunts that could endanger their lives and those of others.

Fifty policemen proceeded to the site and cordoned off the area, forcing the crowd to move into the underground tunnel. They seized 50 vehicles and arrested about 200 suspects during the operation.

A similar raid was conducted in the Al-Salli area where they apprehended more than 30 drifters and onlookers. They booked 30 vehicles and motorcycles which were drifting around the rest houses.

The Riyadh Traffic Department detains between 200 and 350 violators on a daily basis as part of its drive to maintain public safety. The youths also break other laws such as running red lights and driving at high speeds in reverse.

“Traffic rules are being strictly enforced against violators,” a police source said.

The traffic safety campaign has been conducted under the supervision of Riyadh Traffic Director General Mohammed Al-Bugami, traffic division chief Ali Al-Qahtani and Investigations unit chief Ahmed Al-Tuwaijri.

The operation aims to maintain pubic safety and also to punish those who violate traffic rules and regulations.