MAKKAH, 1 January 2008 — Police arrested in the notorious Al-Mansour district of Makkah an African who claimed he could double people’s cash through magical means. The man would ask his victims for SR1,000 and said he could multiply this 10-fold.
Plainclothes police officers, led by Col. Muhammad Al-Minshawi, acting on tip-offs from informants moved in to arrest the man, who managed to escape. Police gave a chase and surrounded him. The man, believed to be a Nigerian, then tried to convince them that he could make them rich if they would give him money.
Although the man was arrested in a densely populated neighborhood, local people did not interfere. The man will be produced before a court to stand trial.
Arab News was given access to interview the African man, who said he has been living in Makkah as an overstayer for four months. “I earned a huge amount of money through this,” he said.
Al-Mansour district is a safe haven for overstayers who cannot work legally. People living in the area are known to work all sorts of jobs to make cash.
Overstayers in the area are known to live in crowded apartments, with 10 people clustering in one room.
Meanwhile, an Asian overstayer was arrested in Makkah along with a woman, who he claimed to be his daughter. The two were arrested after authorities received a telephone call from a resident complaining about the couple’s suspicious activities.
The couple was found to have in their possession bottles of alcohol worth thousands of riyals. The man, a Bangladeshi, was also found to have in his possession an ATM card and ID card belonging to another man, which he took as insurance for money he was owned.
Arab News talked to the man, who said he has been in the Kingdom for four years and that he used to sell water to pilgrims during Haj. The woman, however, claimed she was the man’s cousin. The man is also accused of acting as a pimp providing prostitutes to customers. Police are currently investigating the couple.
