The Jeddah police arrested six Arab expatriates for being in possession of a huge number of prepaid SIM cards for voice and data.

All the SIM cards were registered under different Iqama numbers whose original owners were not aware of it.

“We have arrested six Arab expatriates in Ruwais in Jeddah city for being in possession of prepaid SIM cards obtained under different identities,” Lt. Col. Aati Al-Qurashi, spokesperson of Makkah Regional Police headquarters, said.

“Following a tip-off, we raided an apartment in Ruwais district where we seized 7,849 SIM cards in the possession of the Arab expats,” he said.

Police also cautioned residents to refrain from buying illegal SIM cards. It has been observed that several Asian expatriates are using data SIM cards bought from unscrupulous dealers.

Abdul Raheem Bawazeer, a Yemeni expatriate, told Arab News that he found that 11 SIM cards were registered under his name without his knowledge.

He suggested that people should keep checking SIM cards under their names.

CITC also introduced a system, which enables residents to check whether a SIM card is registered under their name without their knowledge.

STC subscribers can send an SMS message containing the number (9988) to the number (902).

Mobily subscribers can send a blank SMS message to the number (616166).

Zain subscribers can send a blank SMS message to the number (700123).

Prepaid SIM cards are more popular among residents because it enables them to control their telephone budgets and provides them with easy recharge and credit transfer systems.