4.25 million illegal aliens held; over a million sent back home

Riyadh: As many as 4.25 million illegal expatriates have been arrested during the last more than two years. Of those arrested, more than a million have been deported to their respective homes until Thursday, the Nation Free of Violators campaign has announced.

The campaign launched a massive crackdown on violators from mid-November 2017. A total of 19 miniseries and government departments are participating in the campaign including the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat).

The campaign said 3.3 million expatriates were in violation of residency laws, 653,674 were booked for violating work laws and there were 274,239 border security system.

It said 75,864 people were apprehended



while attempting to infiltrate into the Kingdom from its southern borders. Of them, 54 percent were Ethiopians, 43 percent Yemenis and three percent people of various other nationalities

The campaign said 2,945 people were nabbed while trying to leave the Kingdom illegally while 4,690 were accused of providing accommodation and transport to illegal expatriates.

They consisted of 1,715 Saudis of whom 1,671 were questioned, penalized and released while 44 other nationals were still being probed.

The campaign said as many as 14,027 expatriates were being held at the detention centers. They consisted of 12,757 men and 1,270 women.

According to the campaign, 538,290 were referred to their concerned embassies and consulates to issue them with travel documents while 715,200 were making their flight bookings.