RIYADH: The law enforcement agency of Saudi Arabia arrested five Bangladeshi expatriates working at hotel Hilton in Madinah as the validity of their visa was over.

Sources said Saudi authority arrested them when they were going to their workplace hotel Hilton. However, hotel Hilton authority tried to release them.

Allude to the Saudi authority has started a special drive to nab illegal workers in the country.

The special seven-month grace period to correct labor and residency status of foreigners in  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), announced by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, ended on Sunday and an all-out security inspection campaign is set to start on Monday.

Earlier, the Saudi government extended the date to rectify the labor and residency status two times.

This time also the people from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Philippines and Indonesia applied to extend the date but the Saudi government overlooked the request.

Spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Major General Mansour Al-Turki announced that an all-out security inspection campaign is going to be started on Monday. The campaign would continue throughout the year and there is no time limit set for it.

Addressing a joint press conference with the Ministry of Labor officials at the Officers’ Club of the Internal Security Forces here on Sunday evening, Mansour Al-Turki said that the raids would cover all cities, towns, regions and villages as well as highways across the Kingdom.

He also said that the campaign also aims at catching Saudis who employ illegal residents or those who leave their workers to find job on their own.

Mansour Al-Turki warned that those who give shelter the illegal persons or transportation or any kind of help will also be apprehended.

In response to a query of a journalist, deputy Labor Minister Dr Mufarrej Bin Saad Al-Haqbani said that seven months is more than enough to correct labor and residency status.
 
According to the government directives arrested illegal persons will be fined SAR One Lakh and sent to two years imprisonment, immediately.

He also informed that so far 40 lakhs labourers have corrected their papers and 10 lakhs labourers have left the Kingdom for good.

But at the moment they won’t conduct drives in the houses he added.

Deputy Secretary of Inspection Department Abdullah Tuhin said the journalists that special teams will raid various areas to check whether the labourers have legality to work at the offices they were appointed.

BDST: 1730 HRS, NOV 04, 2013
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