Jakarta. The Indonesian police have named 13 suspects in a case involving illegal hajj pilgrimage arrangements that allegedly victimized hundreds of people and caused estimated losses of around Rp 10 billion ($564,000) following recent operations.

National Police spokesperson Johnny Eddizon Isir said on Tuesday that the investigation followed dozens of complaints received by authorities.

“Security and supervision of the hajj are not only matters of law enforcement, but also part of the state’s responsibility to protect the public,” Johnny said in a statement.

He said authorities would continue strengthening monitoring and enforcement measures throughout the 2026 hajj season to protect the public from unauthorized pilgrimage organizers, visa misuse, and fraud schemes targeting prospective pilgrims.

One of the latest operations conducted by the police Hajj and Umrah Task Force involved preventing dozens of non-procedural hajj pilgrims from departing through Terminal 2 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on May 15, Johnny said.

During inspections, officers found irregularities in the passengers’ travel documents and statements. The travelers initially claimed they were heading to Hainan, China, via Singapore for tourism purposes.

However, immigration officers discovered that 31 of them carried single-entry Saudi Arabian work visas valid for 90 days.

Further questioning revealed that five individuals admitted they intended to perform the hajj pilgrimage, while others continued to claim they were traveling for tourism.

Authorities also identified an individual allegedly acting as both tour leader and operational manager for the travel agency organizing the departures.

During the operation, officers confiscated 32 Indonesian passports, 32 Jakarta-Singapore boarding passes, and 31 Saudi Arabian work visas for further investigation.

Indonesian pilgrims are required to obtain special hajj visas. Those attempting to perform the pilgrimage without proper authorization risk arrest and deportation by Saudi Arabian authorities.

Indonesia received a hajj quota of around 220,000 pilgrims this year, the largest national contingent in the world. Despite that allocation, tens of millions of Indonesian Muslims remain on waiting lists, with many facing waiting periods exceeding 15 years.