YANBU, 16 January 2008 — Women shoppers on the Al-Hanan Street in Yanbu have begun hiding their handbags under their abayas due to a spurt of thieves on motorbikes riding past women and snatching their bags.

According to local people, young men on motorbikes, locally known as “motorbike gangs,” are snatching handbags on a daily basis.

Women are not the only targets; men talking on their mobile phones are also being robbed. Last week five men and one woman were robbed on the same street in a new phenomenon that is growing in Yanbu’s public districts and main shopping malls. Many of these gangs are specialized and only target women and expatriate residents.

Intisar Al-Saed said that she was once shopping with her brother on Al-Hanan Street when a young man came and pulled her bag. “Thank God it was only my bag. Since then I stopped carrying a handbag,” she said.

Khaled Al-Juhani, a local resident, said he had stopped at a traffic light and was talking on his cell phone when a young man on a motorbike snatched his phone and fled. “I was surprised and froze straight away. I was afraid of following him,” he said.

“I hope the authorities combat these thieves and stop this phenomenon,” he added.

Sabir Al-Manufi, an Egyptian expatriate, was talking on his phone on Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab Street when four young men on two motorbikes approached him.

“One of them came from my left side while the other came from my right side. They took my phone and fled. I was injured in my face. Since then I’ve been very conscious and careful not to be robbed in a similar way,” he said.

Ali Al-Zahrani, a local resident, said he “nearly died” in a recent mugging.

“I was returning home from work one day and stopped my car next to my house. A man came and knocked on my window and asked me if I studied abroad,” he said.

“He then left before even knowing my answer. I came out of my car and headed home. The man then returned with friends and they started beating me and took all my belongings and fled,” Al-Zahrani added.

Shop owners in the vicinity have also been complaining of robberies. Talal Al-Arawia, owner of a mobile phone shop on Al-Hanan Street, said that his shop was recently robbed.

“Two men came in after parking their car outside. They threatened the Indonesian salesman and took cash and a number of mobile phones,” he said.

According to local residents, another shop on Al-Hanan Street was robbed recently of items estimated to cost around SR25,000.

A police spokesman told Arab News that secret police in cars are now operating in the city and keeping a check on suspected criminals.

“They monitor the area and arrest thieves, especially those who use motorbikes. A number of people have been arrested,” he said.