Saudi Crown Prince Prince Nayef had been interior minister since 1975, controlling both the police and the interior intelligence apparatus. His ministry controlled a paramilitary force of about 130,000 men, the secret security services, all national and local police officers, customs and immigration, the coast guard and the border guard, among other institutions, as well as the religious police force, which ensures public respect for puritan practices. In 1979 when a siege began with armed men in the grand mosque in Makkah it was a challenge to the interior ministry. Crown Prince Nayef's special security force lifted the siege with the support of French troops. One of a group of brothers called Sudeiri seven Prince Nayef was born to Hassa al-Sudeiri, a favourite wife of King Abdul Aziz al-Saud, who founded the kingdom in 1932. Born in Taif, a mountain retreat near Makkah, Nayef bin Abdul Aziz passed away in Geneva.