MAKKAH, 8 October 2007 — An expatriate worker died and two others were injured when a gate of Bindawood Supermarket in the Sheesha district of the city collapsed yesterday afternoon, according to Brig. Ali Al-Muntashri, head of investigations at the Civil Defense Department in Makkah.
He said the gate collapsed while workers were renovating the supermarket that was destroyed in a fire. The accident took place while concrete was being poured into the building.
Muntashri said an investigation has been launched to find out the reason for the gate’s collapse.
Pickpocket Gang Busted
Police arrested on Saturday a 12-member pickpocket gang, the largest single gang arrest this Ramadan.
The gang was comprised of Afghan nationals headed by a 57-year-old man. Several young men and women, including a six-year-old girl, were working mosques in the city.
Makkah police spokesman Maj. Abdul Mohsen Al-Maiman said each member of the family including the child was suspected to have been involved in the crimes.
Explaining their modus operandi, Al-Maiman said the leader of the gang would wait for accomplices posted in mosques at prayer times in a car at a previously determined place ready to speed away. The gang members would keep in touch with the getaway car on their mobile phones.
The women would go to the women’s section and snatch away handbags or mobile phones while their unsuspecting owners would be busy in prayer.
Following many complaints from Saudis and expatriates, the police noticed the getaway car that was in the vicinity of one of the reported crimes and had its license plate numbers covered up.
Investigators followed the car and found the gang’s safe house in Al-Ghassala district. Police found SR100,000 in cash, many mobile phones, women’s handbags and wallets inside the house.
