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RIYADH: Brig. General Mohammad Al-Omair, commander of criminal investigation in the holy places, said that criminal cases dropped by 60 percent during Haj.
"This is quite an achievement that's attributed to the thorough preparation of concerned authorities to minimize, if not altogether eliminate, criminal cases during the Haj season this year," he said.
He said that the decline is mainly attributed to the prevention of the entry of pilgrims who have been habitual offenders when the annual Haj season comes.
"This had a very positive impact on organizational and security aspects of the preparations in anticipation of possible happenings as pilgrims perform their religious obligation," he said.
He said this led to the decline of criminal cases of all kinds, adding that most offenses had to do with pickpocketing, theft, harassment, fraud, among others.
He explained that the officers and members of the investigation and search teams monitored everything that disturbed the peace in the holy sites.
"Before their deployment, we talked to them and urged to do their share in a successful Haj performance this year," he said.
"The investigation and search teams did their jobs well, to use an understatement. We hope that they'll do the same thing if and when they'll be assigned again next year to do the same job," he said.
He added that they also monitored suspects who had previously been involved in pickpocketing and theft, pointing out that this year five units were deployed in Mina, two units in Arafat and one unit in Muzdalifah, in addition to units in the Jamrat area, and police centers in Mina.
"The investigation and search teams registered the data on suspects and verified the evidence presented," Al-Omair said.
© Arab News 2016
