624 illegal expats held in Riyadh

Riyadh: The Ministry of Interior has arrested 624 illegal workers over the past few days in Riyadh.
This was the combined total from two separate raids carried out this week. On Wednesday, the police carried out a predawn raid in four districts of the capital. A senior police officer said those arrested included 82 Ethiopian women and 13 men wanted for various crimes in the Kingdom. 
A total of 236 were from Manfouha. Besides Asian expatriates, Manfouha district has many Ethiopian and Yemeni residents. The police conduct frequent raids in this area to arrest illegal expatriates. Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz personally led a raid in the district a few months ago. 
The police also raided the areas of Ataiga, Rawdah and Al-Miqla, the officer said. Most of those arrested carried forged documents and were working as construction workers and pavement vendors. Officers also targeted people involved in various crimes including theft, sorcery, employing illegal workers and brewing liquor.
The ministry announced that it had arrested more than 100,000 illegal foreigners over the past year in the Eastern Province.
According to official sources, most crimes in the Kingdom are committed by illegal residents who have overstayed their visas. During the amnesty period that ended on Nov. 1, 2013, illegal residents were allowed to leave the Kingdom without any penalties.