Mobile illegal vendors have cashed in during the Haj holidays by selling various food items in popular family strongholds.

“Their activities are illegal and, as such, will incur penalties if and when they’re caught,” a Riyadh municipality source said.

He added that these mobile vendors, “who they think they’re of help to the city residents who need what they sell,” should not get too confident that they won’t be apprehended.

Driving their vans loaded with various food items, they go to different places that residents frequent, like parks, zoo, resorts, malls and other commercial establishments, during the holidays.

Near these establishments, there are also women, mostly Arab, selling various products, such as carpets, blankets and souvenir items, among others.

Individually, their business may not rake in that much cash. Collectively, however, they form a big part of the so-called underground economy.

A visit to popular areas during the Haj holidays showed these illegal vendors, whose vans are parked strategically in the street.

At a zoo, Arab News saw two vans selling popcorn, ice cream, soda and water to customers who were exhausted after roaming the zoo for hours.

With the number of customers buying, we asked the driver, who himself is a salesman, how much money he has made, but he merely smiled and said “It is enough to give me a salary and give a return on investment to my boss.”

As the crowd gets smaller, mobile vendors leave, but return in the evening to make more money.

These mobile vendors could also be seen in broad daylight at a resort outside the capital, going about their business “as if what they were doing is the most ordinary thing to do.”