Nationwide inspection campaigns between August 20 and 26 recorded 14,434 violations of residency, labor and border security laws, the Ministry of Interior said: 6,976 related to residency, 4,110 to border security and 3,348 to labor.

Border authorities caught 1,450 people trying to enter the Kingdom illegally, 41% of them Yemenis, 58% Ethiopians and 1% of other nationalities, and arrested 44 others trying to leave illegally. Another 27 people were held for transporting, sheltering or employing violators.

In total, 29,938 expatriates, 27,957 men and 1,981 women, are going through enforcement procedures. Of these, 18,914 were referred to their embassies or consulates for travel documents, 2,867 were told to make travel arrangements, and 14,905 were deported.

The ministry warned that anyone who helps people enter illegally, transports them inside the Kingdom or provides them with shelter or any other help faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to SAR1 million, as well as confiscation of vehicles and properties used.

It described such acts as major crimes warranting arrest and urged the public to report violations on 911 in the Makkah, Riyadh and Eastern regions and on 999 and 996 elsewhere.