It asked citizens transporting local pilgrims to make sure that these pilgrims had genuine Haj permits before allowing them on board.

"The punishment includes imprisonment, a fine of SR10,000 for every smuggled pilgrim, or a combination of the two," spokesman of the directorate Lt. Col. Badr Al-Malki told Arab News.

He said the nine entry points to Makkah had been manned with trained police force to check pilgrims without permits or with forged ones.

Al-Malki said the unpaved roads that were used for smuggling pilgrims in the past had been heavily guarded with enough force to abort any smuggling operation. "They are being combed 24 hours a day by security forces and passport police. There is no way now to smuggle any pilgrims to Makkah through these roads," he said.

Al-Malki revealed that smugglers used to conceal male pilgrims in women's dresses or hide them in car trunks and other places. He said they also used big trucks, water tanks and concrete mixing vehicles to smuggle pilgrims. "We have so far foiled a number of smuggling attempts," he revealed.

The spokesman said a number of qualified women were employed at the checkpoints to check the Haj permits of female pilgrims. He, however, said so far no forged permits were discovered.

Al-Malki asked residents who have to pass through the checkpoints to go to Makkah as part of their jobs to have official letters authorizing them to do so, otherwise they would not be allowed to enter.

The spokesman asked citizens who might be considering to smuggle illegal pilgrims to take lessons from last year, when smugglers were fined huge amounts of money.