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Saudi Arabia has arrested 14,154 expatriates in a week-long nationwide crackdown for violating residency, labor, and border security laws, according to local media reports.
The Ministry of Interior said joint inspection campaigns carried out between July 23 and 29 led to the arrest of 7,103 individuals for breaching residency laws, 3,654 for border security violations, and 3,397 for labor law infractions.
During the same period, authorities detained 1,418 people while attempting to illegally enter the Kingdom. Of them, 54 percent were Yemeni nationals, 45 percent Ethiopian, and 1 percent from other countries.
Additionally, 23 individuals were arrested while trying to leave Saudi Arabia illegally. Another 17 were detained for allegedly transporting, sheltering, employing, or assisting violators of the residency, labor, and border laws.
The ministry stated that legal proceedings are currently underway against 30,679 violators, including 28,187 men and 2,492 women. Among them, 17,903 have been referred to their respective diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, while 5,424 have been processed for travel bookings for repatriation. So far, 12,613 individuals have already been deported.
Authorities warned that anyone found assisting illegal border crossings or providing support to violators could face up to 15 years in prison, fines of up to 1 million Saudi riyals, confiscation of vehicles and property used in the crime, and public disclosure of their identity.
The ministry reiterated that such offenses are considered serious crimes involving breaches of trust and urged the public to report violations through emergency numbers 911 in Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province, and 999 or 996 in other regions.