Saudi authorities rounded up thousands of illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown, according to media reports. "Since early [Monday] morning, the security campaign got off to a vigorous start as inspectors swung into action," Nawaf al-Bouq, a police spokesman, told the Saudi Gazette newspaper. Police carried out raids on businesses, markets and residential areas to catch expatriates whose visas are invalid because they are not working for the company that 'sponsored' their entry into the kingdom.