By Ainur Rohmah
TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) - Police have named seven people suspected of fraudulently supplying 177 Indonesians wishing to go on Hajj with permits allocated to the Philippines.
The Indonesians were arrested Aug. 19 at Manila airport with genuine Philippine passports believed to have been acquired through “fraudulent means” in exchange for $6,000-10,000 each.
Of the 177, 168 returned to Indonesia Sept. 3, among them an elderly couple who had sold a hectare of farmland to pay for the Muslim pilgrimage.
Police spokesperson Boy Rafli Amar told media Friday that the suspects owned travel agencies that send Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia through the Philippines and had promised those who took up the offer faster access through the use of Philippines quotas.
"They persuaded the victims that they would be able to go on the pilgrimage through the Philippines quickly, safely and legally," said Amar, adding that they are to be charged with fraud, sending people on pilgrimage illegally, and harming consumers.
The charges carry a penalty of 12 years in prison.
Since the Aug. 19 arrests, the Philippines -- the world's most populated Muslim nation -- has called on Saudi Arabia to divert unused Hajj quotas to those who need it most.
The quotas are determined by the amount of Muslims in each country, with the amount set at 1,000 pilgrims per one million Muslims.
As the recipient of the largest Hajj quota, Indonesia -- the world’s most populous Muslim country, with a population of around 256 million -- sends around 200,000 pilgrims to Mecca and Medina every year for the largest annual gathering of people in the world.
Each Indonesian pilgrim must pay a deposit of around $2,500, and there are currently more than 2 million Indonesians on the waiting list, prompting some to seek alternatives to registering for the pilgrimage from the archipelago.
Residents of South Sulawesi experience the longest queue of up to 32 years.