The Ministry of the Interior held a press conference for commanders of the Hajj security forces to discuss plans for the 1445 Hajj season, including security, traffic, and organizational initiatives.
Lieutenant-General Al-Bassami emphasized the importance of ensuring pilgrims' safety and security, including preventing individuals who violate Hajj standards and those without permits.
Security forces have returned vehicles and individuals who violated Hajj laws, confiscated fake Hajj campaigns, and detained individuals who violated regulations and instructions for the Hajj.
On June 9, 2024, in Makkah. At the Unified Security Operations Center (911) in Makkah, the Ministry of the Interior held a press conference today for the commanders of the Hajj security forces 1445-2024. The purpose of the meeting was to exhibit the ministry's plans for the 1445 Hajj season, including those about security, traffic, and organizational initiatives. Lieutenant-General Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, the Director of Public Security and Chairman of the Hajj Security Committee joined the meeting along with Major General Mohammed Al-Omari, the Commander of the Special Emergency Forces at the Presidency of State Security, Major General Pilot Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al-Duraijan, the Commander of Security Aviation, Major General Dr. Hamoud Sulaiman Al-Faraj, the Director of the Civil Defense Forces, and the Commander. Lt. Gen. Al-Bassami emphasized the importance of ensuring pilgrims' safety and security during their Hajj rituals and return home. The prevention of individuals who violate the standards of the Hajj and those who have not secured Hajj permits, as he indicated, is essential to the success of this endeavor. Al-Bassami noted that security authorities in various regions throughout the Kingdom are monitoring fake ads with the intention of defrauding individuals who are seeking to perform Hajj through unlawful Hajj offices or those who pretend to perform Hajj on behalf of others.
He claimed that the authorities would arrest the individual who violated the Hajj regulations and refer him to the appropriate authorities for further action.
Additionally, security forces will apprehend carriers of Hajj violators without licenses and bring them before ad hoc administrative committees of the General Directorate of Passports, where they will face penalties. He emphasized that one of the Hajj security forces' tasks and responsibilities is to increase the field security presence. This is to expedite the monitoring of various security cases and observations, respond promptly with appropriate measures, prevent crime, combat pickpocketing, and address any negative phenomena that affect the security and safety of pilgrims at the Grand Mosque. According to Lieutenant General Al-Bassami, Public Security has returned 97,664 vehicles that violated Hajj laws, as well as 171,587 individuals who were not Makkah residents.
Moreover, Public Security has confiscated 140 fake Hajj campaigns and 64 carriers for breaking Hajj laws. They detained 4,032 individuals who violated the regulations and instructions for the Hajj (Hajj without a permit), 6,105 individuals who violated the limits placed on residency, labor, and border security, and 153,998 individuals who had Hajj visit visas. Maj. Gen. Al-Omari explained that the Special Emergency Forces are responsible for working to maintain security and order in Makkah and Madinah, protecting guests from the Kingdom, preventing individuals who violate Hajj regulations from entering the holy places, managing the movement of crowds, and organizing the stoning ritual according to security protocols. Maj. Gen. Al-Duraijan explained that Security Aviation conducts reconnaissance missions to ensure that the flow of traffic for pilgrims to the Grand Mosque is smooth, to protect the roads leading to the holy sites from unauthorized Hajj intruders, to provide support to the security sectors, and to provide humanitarian services such as medical evacuation, rescue, and firefighting.
Maj. Gen. Al-Faraj emphasized that the forces are strengthening preventive supervision in Makkah, the holy sites, and Madinah as a result of the implementation of preventive, awareness-raising, and operational measures, as well as the provision of humanitarian assistance and situation management through the Holy Sites Operations Center. These steps comprise activating the role of volunteers and the Haram Support Forces, working with government agencies to handle crises in line with the overall emergency plan, and applying already existing technologies and artificial intelligence-developed approaches. Maj. Gen. Al-Murabba said that using mobile devices, security documentation cameras, document verification tools, and simultaneous translating devices, the General Directorate of Passports keeps offering services to pilgrims by air, land, and seaports. He confirmed that the administrative seasonal committees of the General Directorate of Passports are actively working to impose penalties on transporters of Hajj violators who do not hold regular Hajj permits. The penalties, multiplied by the number of violators transported, impose fines of up to SAR 50,000 and prison sentences of up to six months.
