The checkpoints have been established to turn away pilgrims attempting to enter the holy city without the permits required as part of the government's crowd-control policy.
Hundreds of Saudi and expatriate drivers have been detained for attempting to smuggle domestic pilgrims in car boots, trucks and buses. Foreign drivers were handed to the Passport Department for deportation. Saudis caught doing the same face prison time and fines.
People with official business in Makkah not related to Haj must carry a letter from their sponsors approved by the Passport Department.
“Officials specialized in identifying forgery are posted at the checkpoints,” Al-Sahli pointed out.
Regarding the traffic arrangements the commander said two more lanes have been reserved on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway for vehicles carrying pilgrims who arrived at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport. Buses on those dedicated lanes have been specially approved to pass all other checkpoints once they have been searched and cleared at the departure point.
Women pilgrims are being checked by women officials.
Al-Sahli said they occasionally encounter men disguised in burqa attempting to enter Makkah without permits during Haj or women who do not have permits but try to enter as female relatives of permit-wielding male pilgrims.
Meanwhile, the Passport Department turned away 381 pilgrims who were attempting to enter the Kingdom with fake documents or counterfeit visas, Passports Department spokesman Lt. Col. Badr Muhammad Al-Malik said.
The recently implemented fingerprinting and photographing of those entering the Kingdom was cited as helping authorities identify people who have committed immigration infractions in the past.
“The fingerprint records helped identify those who attempted to enter the Kingdom after deportation in the past or returned to the Kingdom with changed passports containing details contrary to their earlier details recorded in the Kingdom,” Al-Malik said.
In another development, Director General of Passports Maj. Gen. Salim Al-Belaihid said all branches of the Passport Department would work during the Eid Al-Adha holidays to undertake services, such as issuing emergency exit/re-entry visas.
Al-Belaihid ordered all directors of branch offices to report for duty on time and regularly so that they can ensure that all works are undertaken properly and promptly.
The director general urged all citizens and expatriates not to seek the services of the Passport Department during the holidays unless the matter is extremely urgent. The government holiday began on Thursday and lasts two weeks.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Saudi missions abroad have stamped 1,761,395 Haj visas until Tuesday, when the visa issuance stopped.
— With input by Md Humaidan
