An increasing number of thieves have been targeting unsuspecting passersby in the streets of Dammam and surrounding cities in the Eastern Province recently. Most of these robberies are carried out by young people especially youths in their late teens, say victims. Some taxi drivers are also robbing people who use their services. According to some of those who have fallen victim to these antisocial elements, the culprits usually pick their victims randomly and give back the Iqama and other valuables after taking the money. Others only target those with mobile phones. This reporter, while in a car, accidentally witnessed one of these robberies when a group of six young boys picked the pocket of a Nepali who was working in one of the pastry shops in Adama, Dammam. Although there were many Saudis and people of other nationalities present, the gang of boys selected the poor Nepali who was a cleaner and obviously did not have thousands or even hundreds of riyals in his pocket. The man lost his Iqama and about SR18, which was all the money he had with him. After robbing the cleaner, the six boys scattered and ran in different directions, and one of them, who ran into the middle of the road, caused a chaotic traffic jam, forcing drivers to sit dumbfounded and helpless in their cars. However, apart from these petty thieves, there are also serious criminals who make carefully detailed plans and take all the necessary measures to make their robberies successful. In such cases, they make sure that their victim will not be able to identify them or their vehicles if they are seen for a second time. What happened to Ismail in Hofuf was one such carefully designed criminal operation. He was robbed of SR280,000 which his sponsor had given him, and he was beaten up so badly by the thieves that the police had to admit him to the hospital. Ismail, who is from the south Indian state of Kerala, and his sponsor filed a complaint with the police and an investigation is under way. Two weeks before this incident, on Harad road in Hofuf, yet another robbery occurred when the culprits broke the windshield of a car and took around SR40,000 worth of phone cards and money. It has also been reported that taxi drivers can turn into robbers who prey upon unsuspecting customers. An Indian expat, Ansar who engaged a taxi to take him to Dammam from Khobar was robbed by the driver. The driver apparently spoke in a friendly manner with Ansar and elicited information about him. He then took him to a deserted area in Dammam 91 and told him that he was from the Passports Department and wanted to see Ansar's Iqama. Ansar immediately called his sponsor on his mobile and the taxi driver even talked to the sponsor. The culprit brandished a knife, terrorized Ansar and took his money from him. He then gave him back his Iqama and let him out of the cab. Ansar was so bewildered that did not even note the registration number of the taxi. He along with his uncle reported the incident to the police. Incidents like these are terrifying the expat community here, and nowadays, people are reluctant to walk in the street alone or with friends, in fear of falling victim to such robberies, carried out for fun or for quick money.
