A group of 90 people charged with providing cover to illegal pilgrims in Makkah have been referred to court along with a number of arrested smugglers of illegal pilgrims, authorities said. The group was found to provide cover to nearly 6,000 illegal pilgrims this year across Makkah, mostly visa overstayers, in about 90 houses in Makkah last month, said Col. Ayed Al-Lugmani, chief of Makkah Passports Department. The visa overstayers and smuggled illegal pilgrims have been referred to the Follow-up Department to finalize their deportation procedures, he said. Offenders found guilty of providing cover to illegal visa overstayers to perform Haj are subject to a SR10,000 fine for each person they cover, while smugglers are subject to a fine ranging between SR2,000 and SR10,000 for each smuggled pilgrim depending on the frequency of the offense, he said. Jail terms will be imposed on both covering up and smuggling activities of pilgrims. Col. Lugmani warned against performing Haj without an official permit saying that 12 checkpoints around Makkah and 14 on the Kingdom's major road networks have been set up to tighten entry procedures into Makkah. Pilgrims who filtered into Makkah last year without Haj permits reportedly paid as much as SR1,000 each to get into the holy city. Smugglers were believed to use 4-wheel vehicles with as many as 12 passengers on board in each smuggling trip to Makkah through dirt roads.
