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274,849 rulings issued, nearly 5.7 million violators arrested
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Passport authorities call on citizens and migrants to stop employing or sheltering infiltrators and violators
Saudi Arabia has issued 274,849 rulings against violators of the residency, labor and border security regulations and nearly 5.7 million such violators have been arrested in the Kingdom, according to reports.
Arab News reported that the rulings have been issued from Aug 20 of 2020 to June 23 of 2021, with the General Directorate of Passports calling on citizens and migrants to stop employing or sheltering infiltrators and violators of the regulations.
It further urged people to stop helping them find work, homes or means of transportation, Arab News said citing SPA.
“The penalty for smugglers or those involved in facilitating the illegal entry or movement of illegal migrants in the Kingdom, provide shelter or provide any form of assistance will face 5-10 years in jail and a fine of $266,000, confiscation of vehicles or property intended to transport or house them,” Border Guard official spokesman Colonel Misfir bin Ghannam Al-Qiraini told Al-Ekhbariya news channel.
Meanwhile, Arab News, citing an official report, said that since the campaign against violators began on Nov. 15, 2017 — and up to June 16, 2021 — there have been 5,651,619 offenders, including 4,323,083 for violating residency regulations, 803,186 for labor violations and 525,350 for border violations.
The report said that 116,930 people were arrested while trying to cross the border into the Kingdom: 43 percent were Yemeni citizens, 54 percent were Ethiopians and 3 percent were of other nationalities.
In addition, 9,550 people were arrested for trying to cross into neighboring countries, and 8,241 were arrested for involvement in transporting and harboring violators.
Some 2,769 Saudis were arrested for harboring violators against local laws, of whom six were being detained pending the completion of procedures.
Immediate penalties were imposed against 715,216 offenders, 913,306 were transferred to their respective diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, 1,050,132 were transferred to complete their travel reservations, and 1,559,919 were deported