24 pickpockets arrested in Prophet’s Mosque

The Prophet’s Mosque’s security force in Madinah arrested 24 pickpockets of eight nationalities who stole from worshippers while praying inside the mosque.
The thieves were arrested during Ramadan under a plan implemented by the police director of the region, Brig. Gen. Saud bin Awad Al-Ahmadi. The plan involved deploying police detectives inside the mosque and the courtyards surrounding it to prevent any kind of pickpocketing activities.
Madinah police Col. Fahd bin Amer Al-Ghanam, said, “Three of the arrested are Egyptian, three others are Pakistanis, and a seventh is from Nepal.”
Items such as wallets containing different currencies and mobile phones were found on the suspects.
He noted that policewomen of the investigation unit arrested a 30-year-old woman while she was pickpocketing a Filipino female visitor. Once the thief noticed that she was caught red-handed, she tried to throw away the wallet, but was caught nevertheless.
“Search and investigation members were suspicious of three juveniles between the ages of 15 and 17. A mobile phone was found on one of them and the device was returned to its original owner,” said Al-Ghanam.
Another 15-year-old juvenile was arrested while he was stealing a mobile phone from a sleeping person inside the mosque. Five other mobiles and sums of different currencies were found on an Egyptian aged 35. The security force had followed the man while he was walking among worshippers who were sleeping inside the mosque at the time.
Al-Ghamam confirmed that the efforts of the security men is still in full swing, armed with their expertise and the advanced equipment they use in the field, such as cameras and state-of-the-art communication devices.
He appealed to all citizens, visitors and residents to take guard their personal belongings, and warned anybody who tries to take advantage of the worshippers while they perform the holy rituals.