Police on Friday announced the arrest of eight armed robbers who preyed on highway travelers and were wanted for up to 90 stickups in 17 areas in the central region. The eight – all Saudis and including one security officer – were overpowered after a road chase and shootout, a police statem ent said. The gang was wanted for drug trafficking, highway robbery, weapons possession, firing at security officers, and impersonating police officers by setting up checkpoints, so as to rob road travelers, including pilgrims. Asian expat's complaint The arrest of the eight ended a long police surveillance operation triggered by an Asian gas-station worker's complaint to Shaqra Police about a robbery, the police statement said. The expatriate complained that three armed men had attacked his gas station, 45 km east of Shaqra, at a late hour, shooting at him and getting away with SR3,500 and two cell phones. On the same night, the police department received more reports of vandalized vehicles parked at rest houses and gas stations in the area. As reports of armed theft in the area increased in the days afterwards, police deployed secret agents along the old Hejaz highway where robberies were commonly reported. One night, the agents spotted a gold-colored Mercedes Benz 25 km away from Shaqra city. One man stepped out of the car with a hand lamp. But as he walked toward a parked car, his accomplice inside the Mercedes suspected that they were being watched, prompting the two to abort the operation and speed away. Police chased the car racing towards Dawadim. The fleeing men opened fire and police fired back, hitting the car and forcing it to a halt. The two were arrested. Police found 22 Captagon pills, four cell phones, keys, knifes, and walkie-talkies in their possession. During the investigation, the two men confessed to staging armed robberies with six accomplices. The gang mainly operated on highways linking Riyadh with major cities, police said about their operation that's part of efforts to crack down on organized crime. In one incident, they struck at a mosque along the highway, locking the door on a worshipper and stealing his truck carrying merchandise worth SR20,000. In another crime, the gang vandalized the parked vehicles of pilgrims coming from other Gulf countries while being at a rest house. Riyadh Police Chief Lt. Gen. Abdullah Al-Shahrani has ordered Shaqra police to expand the investigation to determine the extent of the gang's crimes.
