Police Arrest Umrah Agency Owners Who Scam Hundreds of Victims
Jakarta. The police have arrested a married couple who founded the Naila Syafaah Wisata Mandiri, the umrah agency that scammed hundreds of Indonesian pilgrims with some even getting stuck in Saudi Arabia for days.
The couple, Mahfudz Abdullah (52) and Halijah Amin (48) were staying in a hotel in Yogyakarta at the time of the arrest.
"We caught the perpetrators on Feb. 27, 2023," Chief Comr. Hengki Hariyadi of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday, as reported by Jakarta Globe’s sister publication Beritasatu.
Police have also caught 59-year-old Hermansyah, who was the president director at Naila Syafaah Wisata Mandiri. All three suspects can serve up to 10 years in prison.
According to Hengki, the police first received a report on the scam from the Religious Affairs Ministry.
“The victims filed a report to the Indonesian Consulate General in Saudi Arabia, then the latter relayed the information to the Religious Affairs Ministry who eventually informed us [of the scam]," Hengki said.
The police to this day still have not disclosed the exact number of the victims.
Nailah Syafaah victim Abdus was part of an umrah group of 64 people. Their return flights were scheduled on Sep. 18, 2022 at 5.50 p.m. Saudi Arabia time. The pilgrims arrived at the local airport at around 3 p.m. but they were unable to get on the plane due to visa issues.
The pilgrims were taken to Prima Hotel for three days and were later moved to Pakons Prime Hotel before flying back home on Sep. 29, 2022.
However, not everyone could return to Indonesia. Sixteen pilgrims had to wait in Saudi Arabia and wander around Mecca for more than a week with no place to go and no word from the Naila Syafaah agency.
"I am Abdus, one of the victims of Naila Syafaah. I am here on behalf of the 16 pilgrims who failed to return back to Indonesia on time. [We were stuck] in Mecca for around 8 days,” Abdus said.
Abdus said they were finally able to make it back to Indonesia after sending a letter to the Indonesian consulate general.
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