974 Haj-bound expats arrested in Jeddah

Security forces across the Kingdom are on an alert mode and have arrested hundreds of unauthorized pilgrims and sent back thousands who tried to sneak into the holy city of Makkah to perform Haj without permits.
Jeddah Police have arrested 974 expatriates, including some Asian women, who tried to sneak into Makkah without Haj permits. “Police backed by CID teams are active at all the embarkation points in Jeddah. These expats were arrested when they tried to sneak into Makkah for Haj without permit,” First Lt. Nawaf Bouq of Jeddah Police told Arab News. Police also seized 123 vehicles, which were used for transporting illegal pilgrims.
The arrested expatriates included Pakistanis, Yemenis, Egyptians, Indians and some other nationalities, he said, adding that this was in addition to over 3,000 pilgrims who were turned back by police forces.
Nawaf Bouq said that police, using loud-speakers, were continuously warning pilgrims not to break rules, but those who ignored the warnings were arrested. The police arrested 24 Indonesian women on Sunday when they tried to enter Makkah without permits, he said.
Meanwhile, checkpoints at the main entrance of Taif have turned back thousands of pilgrims who were on the way to Makkah from Riyadh and other regions to perform Haj. Temporary checkpoints at Asheera near Taif also turned back 5,000 violators besides seizing hundreds of vehicles. Security was beefed up at Hada check-post to curb illegal entry to Makkah.
At Qunfuda border checkpoint for pilgrims from Southern Province, 200 persons were arrested and another 6,000 sent back. Police also seized over 1,000 vehicles used to transport unauthorized pilgrims.