Authorities arrested two Egyptians on Wednesday for allegedly operating a fake Haj company from which they swindled about SR1 million out of 450 local pilgrims, mostly Egyptians. The pilgrims, who reported the case to the police, said they later realized they were trapped by the cheap Haj package offer for only SR2,300. “It was too good to be true,” said one pilgrim who fell victim to this fake Haj company. The fake Haj company was exposed when a dispute broke out between the two fake Haj operators and an officially licensed Haj company which was getting Haj permits for the customers of the fake operators under its name. Authorities have now started with hope to assign the 450 pilgrims to different legal Haj companies to continue their pilgrimage with legal Haj permits. “I knew about this company from an ad that was distributed at a mosque in Jeddah,” said Jalal Muhamad, a legal resident engineer from Egypt. The ad appeared well written with organized schedules for transportation and accommodation in the holy sites, he said. “I found myself tempted by the cheap offer and gave them all my official documents to procure Haj permit,” he said The campaign went way beyond Jeddah borders, however. A family of an Egyptian physician coming from Mohayil, a town about 550 km southwest of Jeddah, said they were so sad to see their dream Haj opportunity vanish in front of their eyes, hoping to join a legal Haj company before it is too late. The wife of one of the two arrested Haj operators came to their defense saying “We have run an honest Haj campaign for four years at a very competitive price.” “There is a plot against my husband and his partner,” she said. The campaign has always worked under a bigger licensed Haj company, she said.
