The Committee for Monitoring Bogus Haj Offices raided five offices illegally set up to cheat unsuspecting pilgrims. In Al-Aziziyah District, the committee raided a residential apartment that three Indian expatriates had converted into a Haj office. Purporting to be an authorized Haj mission, they collected money from people and gave every pilgrim a computer printout with information including the location of the camp and the number of pilgrims in it. By the time they were raided on Thursday night, the three criminals had collected about SR350,000. The committee raided another bogus Haj office run by two Bangladeshi workers and a Pakistani in an abaya shop. More than SR115,000 in cash was found on the premises and confiscated. The amount had been paid by over 30 people of Asian nationalities, who were told that they would be provided with all the facilities necessary for performing Haj after obtaining the necessary Haj permits. Also in Al-Aziziya District, a Pakistani national was arrested for converting his restaurant into a Haj office claiming he had a camp near the Jamrat Bridge with good services. He collected SR4,000 each from people of different nationalities, but his plans were foiled as the bogus office was raided by committee members. The committee members also raided a residential building after being tipped off that a bogus Haj firm was being run by two Pakistanis, who offered their services to Asian overstayers. The fifth location that was raided by the committee was an apartment in Al-Jamia District that an Indonesian expatriate used as a bogus office to deceive about 330 of his fellow countrymen. The committee found 145 forged Haj permits and 188 forged domestic permits.
