Over 1500 plainclothes policemen have been deployed in the holy sites during the Haj this year to catch pickpockets. The policemen are disguised as cleaners or as ordinary citizens and are spread all over the holy sites. Col. Khider Al-Zahrani, Director of Investigation Department for Festive Occasions in the holy sites, said the undercover police mingle with the pilgrims so as to guard them from pickpockets. An Arab pilgrim who was attempting to steal from a pilgrim's luggage was caught red-handed by a policeman dressed as a cleaner. Meanwhile, security officials have prevented more than 60,000 cars from entering the holy sites during the last three days. “The flow of traffic into Mina has been smooth this year with vehicles transporting pilgrims moving without the pressure seen in previous years,” Colonel Muhammad Al-Basami, the official in charge of Mina checkpoints, said. Al-Basami added that the checkpoints which are located around Mina have turned back tens of thousands of cars which did not have permission to enter the holy sites. More than 1,300 traffic police are controlling traffic at the entrances to the holy city, and at its bridges and tunnels in order to regulate the movement of pilgrims inside Mina.
