The Ministry of Interior recorded 14,782 violations of residency, labour and border security laws during nationwide inspection campaigns from September 10 to 16: 7,438 involving residency, 3,782 border security and 3,562 labour.

Border authorities caught 1,450 people trying to enter the Kingdom illegally, 43% of them Yemeni, 56% Ethiopian and 1% of other nationalities, and arrested 25 people trying to leave illegally. Another 23 people were arrested for transporting, sheltering or employing violators.

Some 31,075 expatriates, 29,171 men and 1,904 women, are currently going through enforcement procedures. Of these, 18,986 were referred to their embassies or consulates for travel documents, 3,834 were told to book their travel, and 12,635 have been deported.

The ministry warned that anyone helping people enter the Kingdom illegally, transporting or sheltering them, or providing any other assistance faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to SAR1 million, along with confiscation of vehicles and property used.

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