Abu Dhabi, Aug 5 (Emirates 24|7): Abu Dhabi’s police seized 72 beggars during raids through the fasting month of Ramadan and one of them was found to have made nearly Dh22,000 in just hours.
Police said 36 of the beggars had come to the UAE on visit visas while 30 of them are residents and the rest are staying illegally. The beggars included 64 males and eight females and all of them were caught begging on streets and inside buildings.
“One Arab beggar was found to have made Dh22,000 while another had Dh14,000, they made the money in just a few hours,” a police statement said.
Begging is strictly banned in the UAE and other oil-rich Gulf states, home to nearly 20 million expatriates, mostly from other Arab countries, Africa and south Asia.