Col. Badar bin Saud Al-Saud, spokesman of the Directorate of Makkah Police, said that when the police arrest illegal workers, the Public Security Administration hands them over to the General Service Center at Al-Shumaisy to check whether they have any criminal cases pending.
If they are cleared, their personal belongings are deposited in a special box at the Passport Department’s reception center. Their biometrics are recorded in the same building and all details recorded before they are sent to the detention center at the general service center with the knowledge of the Prisons Administration.
He said the next step involves getting travel documents for the detainees from their consulates and placing them on flights to their home countries. The entire process takes about 48 hours depending on the consulates and flight availability. The Saudi government pays for their flights home, he said.
Three committees comprising officials from the Ministry of Interior and other government departments supervise the administrative and technical procedures of this process at the general service center. The office allows for the completion of procedures at a single window.
He said the general service center houses offices of 14 government departments including the provincial governorate, police, diplomatic security, passports, national information center, Saudi Arabian Airlines, health affairs, Civil Defense and prison wards with 460 beds.
What happens to detainees?
