The Royal Oman Police has warned that some begging incidents in the Sultanate are connected to organised networks exploiting vulnerable individuals and directing their activities for profit. The ROP noted that people seen soliciting in public places may be controlled by these groups, which manage operations and collect the resulting funds. “Behind many beggars is a network that exploits and manages them,” the ROP said, while calling on citizens and residents to support authorities in uncovering such schemes and protecting potential victims.
Citizens and residents have been asked not to encourage begging through handouts but instead to report suspected exploitation or organised activity to the dedicated police hotline on 1166. The force positioned the advice as a way to disrupt the networks without unintentionally sustaining them. Oman’s Penal Code bans begging in mosques, streets, public and private locations and shops, with those convicted subject to up to one year in prison and a fine of RO100.
The alert follows data from the Public Prosecution Department showing authorities confiscated approximately RO 100,000 from persons involved in begging activities during 2025. According to the department, foreign nationals made up the vast majority of cases, many of which were linked to organised networks rather than standalone acts of need. Prosecutors processed a total caseload of 55,164 cases that year, a 19 percent increase from 2024.[[1]](https://arabiandaily.com/ro-100000-seized-from-beggars-as-organised-networks-exposed/)
Records from the Ministry of Social Development documented 1,152 beggars apprehended across Oman in 2017, more than 80 percent of them expatriates. The ministry’s dedicated anti-begging teams carried out over 2,000 campaigns that year, with the highest numbers recorded in Muscat governorate followed by North and South Batinah. Similar enforcement patterns have continued in subsequent years as authorities target both individual offenders and the networks behind them.
Officials have maintained that donations given directly to street beggars frequently benefit criminal handlers instead of the individuals presented as needy. Past initiatives have directed charitable giving toward registered associations to guarantee proper oversight and delivery to legitimate causes. The ROP’s latest communication extends this approach by stressing community participation in reporting to enable effective interventions.
Related actions have encompassed deportation of convicted foreign nationals and coordination among police, prosecution and social development bodies to address exploitation of groups including children and women. The Public Prosecution has repeatedly described many begging cases as part of structured criminal enterprises that move funds out of the country. Such efforts reflect sustained attention to the issue across Oman’s governorates since at least the late 2010s.
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