JEDDAH: A special Passports Department unit has smashed a five-member gang of criminals, including a Saudi woman, who had forged 3,500 Haj permits and were planning to sell the documents for about SR1,000 each. General Salem Al-Bulaihid, Director General of the Passports Department, confirmed the arrest of the five people, and said the gang was arrested before they could sell the permits. Al-Bulaihid said the department's centers at the entry points to Makkah were told to carry out careful examinations of Haj permits. There are trained and qualified personnel equipped with modern anti-forgery devices and advanced computers at these centers, he said, adding that a women's crew was also assigned to the Makkah entry points. Sources said the gang's premises were raided by authorities four days after they were tipped off. The gang was running their business from a contracting office north of Jeddah and owned by the Saudi woman. A Burmese suspect was arrested in an area west of Jeddah one day after the others were captured. People who wanted to buy the documents were sent to the office, would pay between SR700 and SR1,000, and then fill out forms which would be sent to the forgery network consisting of two Saudis, one Yemeni and one Burmese. A pilgrim would get the document in 48 hours with a forged Passports Department seal on it. The suspects confessed and said that more than 3,500 forged permits were ready to be given to people, in addition to thousands of others that were being prepared. The Passports Department's forged seal belonged to the Burmese suspect, the suspects told investigators. They said he was the one getting the largest share of the profits, a total of SR500 for each permit.
