Abdulrahman Al-Ali Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – More than 35,000 illegal expats are being held at detention center in Al-Shumaysi on Jeddah-Makkah expressway, Director of Public Relations in Makkah Region Police Col. Badr Bin Saud Al-Saud said. The were 24,000 male inmates and 11,000 females and children. Most of them were Ethiopian, Indonesian and Somali nationals while some of the inmates were from Niger and Chad. So far 4,500 illegals from Makkah region have been deported to their countries. He said three meals are provided everyday to the inmates besides snacks and soft drinks in the reception and departure halls. Meanwhile, undersecretary for inspection and work environment development at Labor Ministry Dr. Abdullah Abothenain said that the ministry has discovered 752 grave labor and residency regulation violations during the first two weeks since inspections started. “We'll double our efforts and take all possible legal action against violators. The crackdown campaign won't stop until the labor market has been regulated the way it should be,” Abothenain stressed. Committees have been formed to look into the violations and decide proper punishment and penalty. In some cases, residency regulation violators will face two-year imprisonment or SR100,000 fine, or both. A committee at the ministry will look into fake Saudization cases and set penalties accordingly. More than 60,000 illegal expatriates have been deported since the beginning of the security campaign on Nov. 4, Interior Ministry announced a few days ago. Procedures are underway to deport those who are at detention centers in various regions of the Kingdom. Nearly a million foreigners have left Saudi Arabia since March, and tens of thousands more have been detained in raids on offices and marketplaces that began this month.
