Haj visas forged by international gang; vigilance urged

RIYADH: The Ministry of Haj and Umrah discovered that an international ring has forged Haj visas for the current year, an official source has said.

The ministry has issued a warning to countries that received Haj quotas for the current year to remain vigilant against forged visas, said the source.

“The registration of Haj passport with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs website is automatically read and the information is passed to the electronic reader,” he added.

Meanwhile, security experts stressed the importance of remaining alert at the sea, air and land entry ports to check visas and other related documents of pilgrims. The experts cited the Cairo airport case. An international gang based in China, Turkey and Cairo stole the Haj visa quota of Egypt and granted visas to foreigners for large sums of money.

The gang members were eventually arrested and turned over to the authorities concerned in Egypt.

Nasser Al-Arifi, professor of crimi- nal psychology and head of academic studies at the King Fahd Security College, said the Kingdom is interested in services and facilities to pilgrims.

“In this regard, the Kingdom harnesses the work of employees of ministries and various sectors to ensure a successful Haj pilgrimage.”

Yusuf Rumaih, sociology professor at Qassim University, stressed the impor- tance of ensuring the health as well as securing the addresses of pilgrims, including the nationalities of foreigners.