The News Minute | July 23, 2014 | 04:06 pm IST

Riyadh: Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested a beggar, who, it later turned out, has been sitting on a fortune of over $300,000, a media report said on Wednesday.

Cash and valuables worth 1.2 million Saudi riyals ($320,000) were seized from the unnamed man of Arab ethnicity by the police from Yanbu port city in western Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Gazette reported.

Fahd Al-Ghanam, spokesman of Madinah police, said the man was nabbed after he was found begging in dubious circumstances.

Begging is strictly banned in Saudi Arabia.

The suspect was living in a luxurious furnished apartment and used to travel between various cities in his own car, police said.

Investigations revealed that the man was assisted by his wife and three children in the job, the report said.

All the family members were illegally staying in Saudi Arabia.

Ghanam said the millionaire beggar managed to obtain an investor licence from a Gulf country.

Meanwhile, the police have launched comprehensive investigation into the suspect’s illegal activities. His nationality was not given.

With IANS