Makkah police arrested Wednesday a Nigerian thief in the central Al-Mabeda district of Makkah, as authorities clamp down on the increasing activities of pickpocket gangs seeking to exploit the numbers of unwary pilgrims arriving in the city. Major Abdul Mohsin Al-Miman, police spokesman in Makkah, said that rising numbers of arrests signaled a success for the department as pilgrims begin to flock to the city for the holy period. Al-Miman expects Wednesday's arrest, carried out after the Nigerian national had stolen a handbag from a young woman, to lead to further detentions, as many pickpockets reportedly work in organized teams. “We will continue our investigations with the individual to find out whom he was working with in order to break up the whole gang,” Al-Miman said.?“We are working according to instructions from Turky Al-Aanqawi [Major General of Makkah Police] to trace pickpocket gangs and combat the problem,” Al-Miman added. The clampdown comes in response to a surge in theft reports in Makkah in recent days, where gangs have predominantly targeted pockets and handbags to make away with mobile phones, petty cash, and other small, personal belongings. – SG __
