RIYADH – Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the police raided a hideout of runaway housemaids and illegal maid brokers after a Saudi citizen tipped them off. At least 15 people were arrested following the raid on a villa used by the brokers to shelter runaway maids in an eastern district of Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The brokers were operating a black market and were making the services of the runaway maids available to those in need of domestic help. The racket was involved in human trafficking after luring the runway maids into their hideout. Police transferred the case to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution to complete the legal procedures. The ministry, in coordination with the security agencies, is carrying out intensive inspection campaigns to track down rackets involved in human trafficking. As part of this, the ministry is closely monitoring advertisements appearing on social media platforms and other means of media, offering the services of domestic workers. Meanwhile, the ministry announced that it has granted licenses to a total of 183 recruitment offices in the Kingdom. Riyadh region tops with 71 offices while Makkah region and the Eastern Province come next with 38 and 24 offices respectively. Khaled Abal Khail, spokesman for the ministry, said another 19 offices have been granted initial approval from among a total of 557 applicants, who are waiting for permission to open recruitment offices in various regions of the Kingdom.
