Two arrested in Baghdad over Umrah scam targeting 29 pilgrims

BAGHDAD — Police in Baghdad’s Karkh area arrested two men on Wednesday accused of taking money and identity documents from 29 people with promises to arrange their Umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, the Karkh Police Command said.

Officers from the Airport Emergency Police Sector moved after receiving a report from the group, set up a sting to draw the suspects out and arrested them, seizing two mobile phones, the command said. Both men were handed to the Airport Police Department for legal proceedings.

964media has documented several Umrah scams in which fraudulent travel companies advertised packages on social media for as little as $300, then shut their offices after collecting money and passports, according to victims, licensed operators and a government official. Ali al-Aboudi gave a travel agency three passports and $1,000 for an Umrah trip, and days later the office was shut. It took him seven months to get a letter allowing him to replace the passports.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca that can be made at any time of year, unlike the Hajj, which falls on set dates in the Islamic calendar and is obligatory once in a lifetime for Muslims who are able.