119,850 people rounded up for violating Saudi labor, residency regulations

Saudi security forces round up foreign nationals in Arar, capital of the Northern Borders region, on November 29, 2017, as part of the campaign against illegals. (SPA)

RIYADH: Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs inspectors have joined forces with security authorities to bring the number of arrests to 119,850 for various violations.
The joint force has been announced by the ministry on its website, under the campaign “A Nation Without a Violator,” which was launched earlier this year.
Of the total number, 67,760 were arrested for violations of residency regulations, 19,709 for border security violations, 30,956 for labor violations, and 1,425 for attempted border infiltration.
Those who attempted to infiltrate Saudi borders included Yemenis (78 percent), Ethiopians (21 percent), and individuals with unknown nationalities (1 percent).
Earlier, the joint force of labor inspectors and security authorities visited different regions in the Kingdom. Of these visits, 1,030 violations of labor and residency regulations were detected.
Last week, joint inspection campaigns were also launched, detecting 296 violations relating to nationalization, labor and residency regulations in Makkah.
The team visited 288 establishments with the participation of 47 male and female inspectors.
In Asir region, the ministry said, inspectors found 438 violations in connection with these regulations.
In Riyadh region, the joint inspection team found 104 violators, with 17 violations relating to illegal expatriate workers who were either working for others or for themselves.
In Alkhobar, the inspectors tracked down 161 violators of residency and labor regulations, as well as illegal expatriate workers engaged in cell phone maintenance and sales, which is in violation of the decision to nationalize the telecom sector.
In Madinah, the joint inspection team uncovered 31 violations and closed down 45 commercial shops.
The ministry urged Saudi citizens and residents to report violations of the labor and residency regulations through the service’s website (rasd.ma3an.gov.sa) or the unified customer service number (19911), saying that all reports would be dealt with promptly.