Inspection campaigns across the Kingdom from September 3 to 9 uncovered 14,796 violations of residency, labor and border security laws, the Ministry of Interior said: 7,504 involved residency, 3,783 border security and 3,509 labor rules.

Border authorities caught 1,273 people trying to enter the Kingdom illegally, of whom 44% were Yemenis, 55% Ethiopians and 1% other nationalities, and arrested 25 people trying to leave illegally. A further 21 people were held for transporting, sheltering or employing violators.

Currently, 30,257 expatriates, 28,529 men and 1,728 women, are going through enforcement procedures. Of these, 18,677 were told to contact their embassies or consulates for travel documents, 3,487 were asked to make travel bookings, and 12,057 have been repatriated.

The ministry warned that anyone who helps people enter the Kingdom illegally, transports or shelters them, or provides 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 called these major crimes requiring arrest and urged the public to report violations on 911 in Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern regions, or 999 and 996 elsewhere.