Hundreds of Kenyans seeking job opportunities in Saudi Arabia have been put on high alert following a crackdown on illegal activities.
In the latest operation by Saudi authorities, over 50 people, including 11 women, have been arrested in what officials describe as a fight against “immoral acts.”
Some of the vices the Saudi government is targeting include begging and sex work.
In a bid to curb these activities, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior has established a new special unit focused on tackling “community security and human trafficking.” This has since led to the arrest of dozens of foreign workers.
This comes amid a growing number of Kenyans moving to the Gulf in search of employment, primarily in domestic work and other semi-skilled jobs.
In recent times, some Kenyans have been duped by rogue recruitment agencies into travelling to countries like Saudi Arabia, only to find that the jobs they applied for do not exis, forcing some to resort to begging as a means of survival.
Recently, four expatriates were arrested by Saudi police for engaging in ‘immoral acts’ at a massage facility in Riyadh. A police raid in the capital also led to the arrest of three foreign women accused of engaging in sex work.
Saudi authorities have also intensified efforts to curb street begging, a practice that often involves foreigners who arrive in the country under false promises of employment.
While it remains unclear why the crackdown has gained momentum in recent months, Khalid Al-Sulaiman, a columnist for the semi-official Okaz newspaper, believes the crackdown could be linked to the heightened social media advertising of businesses categorised as immoral in the Middle East.
ALSO READ: MCK Clarifies Cautioning Against Standard and Nation Headlines