MAKKAH, 24 June 2007 — Police recently arrested two African con men who claimed to be magicians in raids at two separate homes in the Al-Mansour District of Makkah.
Both men, who operated independently, claimed they could magically increase people’s money.
Once victims handed money to them, the two men would disappear and look for other victims.
Arab News talked to the two African men. The first gave his name as Adam and said he had arrived in the Kingdom on an Umrah visa a year ago and had overstayed looking for a job.
“I didn’t plan on becoming a conman. My mate told me that I looked like a magician and so I pretended to be one,” he said. When pressed he added that he had managed to dupe a number of people.
The other man, Tur, said he too had arrived in the Kingdom on an Umrah visa and overstayed to pretend to be a magician. “I heard in my home country that being a magician is a profitable business in Saudi Arabia and so I thought I’d give it a try,” he said, adding that lots of Saudis visited him.
“I would charge Saudis SR3,000 and expatriates SR200,” he said, adding that he did not expect to get arrested so quickly.
“I was hoping to make a lot of money and then return to my home country to set up a business,” he said.
Police spokesman Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Mayman urged residents to avoid magicians. “Makkah police diligently tries hard in arresting con men. We are trying our best to stamp out this problem,” he said.
