RIYADH, 3 March 2008 — A gang of armed youths robbed as many as six 24-hour convenient stores run by a retail chain in Riyadh recently, an indication of the rising number of armed robberies in the capital.
According to a foreign worker at one of the stores, the robberies took place between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and that three of the stores were located in upmarket districts of the city, such as Al-Olaya.
The suspects, in their 20s, threatened workers with weapons, ordering them to empty their tills. They also stole prepaid Sawa and Mobily phone cards.
“The robbers entered one of the stores with a gun... They even knew where the prepaid phone cards were kept,” said a store worker, adding that a former employee could have leaked logistical information about the stores.
A spokesman for the chain, who asked his name not be published, said police were able to arrest 10 men, who were positively recognized by the workers. The stores, according to the company official, were equipped with cameras, which helped police identify the men.
Over the past year armed robberies have increased in the capital at an alarming rate. Police have exerted efforts in apprehending suspects, the majority of them local youths who are also involved in car thefts and muggings. In one incident reported by the local police a few months ago, three suspects threatened a foreign worker in a grocery store with a machine gun.
Analysts have often linked the high unemployment rate among Saudis to the rise of crime in the Kingdom. Official statistics from the Labor Ministry put the unemployment rate at nine percent among Saudi men. However, the figures only include unemployed men who registered with the ministry during a nationwide campaign last year.
Meanwhile, Riyadh police announced that they apprehended three suspects — two of them of Arab nationalities and the third an African — in connection with a number of muggings in the capital.
Police said they had received reports from a number of locals that their wallets had been stolen while attending prayers in a mosque located in the north of the capital. Police later monitored the mosque and were able to apprehend one suspect, who had in his possession a stolen wallet. The man led police to his accomplices.
