CAIRO: Passport officers stationed at a key bridge connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have intercepted a foreign tourist who tried to smuggle two compatriots into the country by hiding them in his car.
The Saudi Passport Authority described the attempt, which was thwarted at the King Fahd Causeway, as an illegal attempt to smuggle the two people into Saudi Arabia.
“Legal proceedings have been taken against them and they have been referred to the competent authorities,” the agency added in a short statement, without providing further details.
The King Fahd Causeway was completed in 1986 and has since become an integral part of travel between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
Earlier this week, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced that it would round up 17,556 illegal aliens in one week as part of a nationwide campaign against violators of Saudi residency, labor and border security laws.
The ministry added that 12 other people were arrested during the crackdown for being involved in transporting, protecting or employing illegal aliens.
Saudi Arabia has announced that anyone who facilitates the entry of infiltrators into the Kingdom or provides them with transportation, housing or any other kind of assistance faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million riyals. I have warned you repeatedly. They confiscated their transportation and accommodation and gave them humiliating names.
Saudi Arabia, a country of approximately 32.2 million people, hosts a large community of migrant workers and has recently announced measures to regulate and stimulate the local labor market.
Authorities are running a major nationwide campaign targeting undocumented expatriates, calling it a “country free of violators.”