The Saudi capital of Riyadh where an expatriate was recently arrested while trying to smuggle 1.3 million riyals through the airport. Reuters
The Saudi capital of Riyadh where an expatriate was recently arrested while trying to smuggle 1.3 million riyals through the airport. Reuters
The Saudi capital of Riyadh where an expatriate was recently arrested while trying to smuggle 1.3 million riyals through the airport. Reuters
The Saudi capital of Riyadh where an expatriate was recently arrested while trying to smuggle 1.3 million riyals through the airport. Reuters

Saudi Arabia arrests money smugglers with millions of riyals


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An Egyptian expatriate was arrested at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport with 1.3 million riyals ($340,000) he was trying to smuggle out of the country. 

Authorities were tipped off about the smuggling attempt, Riyadh police spokesman Maj Khaled Al Kreidis said.

Maj Al Kreidis said five other expatriates  three Egyptians and two Syrians ranging from 30 to 40 years in age were arrested after it became clear that the man was not acting alone. 

Another 4.7 million riyals was found at one of the suspects' homes, as well as several bonds.

Maj Al Kreidis said the group collected unnaccounted funds and transferred them out of the country through 10 commercial bank accounts owned by Saudi citizens. In return, they received commission.

The arrest comes as Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to combat corruption.

An official at the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority, Nazaha said last week that the authority initiated 123 criminal cases, including against a former member of the Shura Council,  members of the Public Prosecution and former public servants.

Nazaha spokesperson Ahmed Al Hussein  told Al-Ikhbariya TV that employees convicted of corruption would be dismissed from their jobs. Those accused of crimes related to public office will face maximum punishment.

He said the latest cases were filed with co-operation from the Ministry of Justice, the State Security Prosecution and the Ministry of Interior.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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