Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has sent back 159,188 residents for attempting to undertake the Haj without legal permits this year, local media reported.
The director of Public Security and head of the Haj Security Committee, Lieutenant General Muhammad Al-Bassami, said in a press conference, that 5,868 violators of residency and work regulations have been arrested in Makkah.
Al-Bassami, head of the Haj security committee, told Arabic daily Okaz that 109,118 cars were returned at the entrances to Makkah for violating Haj regulations, and 83 fake pilgrimage campaigns were also detected.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia announced the success of the health plans for this year’s Haj season.
Minister of Health Fahd Al-Jalajel affirmed that the season is free of any outbreaks or threats to public health, attributing the success to the integration of all concerned government agencies and early preparation for the Haj season.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced that the total number of pilgrims this year has recorded more than 1.8 million pilgrims, including more than 184,000 from home, from more than 150 countries.
This year Haj season is the first pilgrimage to witness a full return of pilgrims since the COVID-19 pandemic.
