Saudi police have arrested more than 9,100 foreigners in a crackdown on illegal residents in the country's north during the year ending March 2002, a newspaper reported. Some 9,149 men and women were arrested in the eastern Hafer al-Batin region, 500 kilometres north of Riyadh, al-Youm said.

Another 1,274 expatriates were picked up around the northwestern holy city of Medina. Many of the illegals had failed to leave the desert kingdom after their pilgrimage visas expired.

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Saudi authorities regularly announce the arrests of mainly Arab and Asian Muslim nationals who arrive in the kingdom to perform pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, but then choose to remain there in breach of visa regulations.

Illegal immigrants are deported while landlords renting accommodations to them face prison terms and fines. There are around seven million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. The government has launched a campaign to reduce the number by hiking fees on recruitment and offering incentives for nationals to replace foreign labour in the private sector.
Bureau Report