At least 190 beggars were arrested in a raid in Riyadh this week.

In a relentless crackdown on illegal expats and beggars, the Riyadh police announced here on Monday that more than 190 beggars (male and female) of various nationalities were arrested in a dawn raid on Saturday in their hideouts in the capital.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, there were 50 children and old people selling roses at traffic signals in a new modus operandi.

An earlier report also disclosed that children are being used by organized gangs to support them financially.

The Interior Ministry said that this operation is part of the security campaign to curb the phenomenon of begging in the capital as it poses a security risk. They also distort the landscape by exploiting public sites, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh Police Department, represented by its district police chief Saud Al-Hilal, said that they do not catch women and children on the road as they can harm themselves while escaping from the police.

Therefore, secret teams were formed to monitor them in prominent locations in the early hours of the morning until they departed for home where they were rounded up immediately.

Al-Hilal said that the police raided their locations at midnight when most beggars go home to take a break. “They wear tattered clothing while begging but replace them with normal wear when they return to their hideouts,” he explained.

The beggars take turns working at the sites which include traffic lights, markets and mosques, he said.

[wpResize]