Saudi authorities said they have busted more than 10 fake Haj companies in recent days, which claim to provide pilgrims with the services needed to complete their Haj journey.

Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy, deputy governor of Makkah and head of executive committee for Haj operations, said these fake Haj service agents would be soon made public, adding that those behind them would be severely punished.

He also pointed out that the fake agents were found inside the Kingdom, adding that they posed a major challenge for Saudi Haj managers.

“The pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom are very well organized, adding that no fake Haj agents have been discovered outside Saudi Arabia,” the deputy governor said.

Security agents detected two fake Haj agents run by a Saudi and an expat on Sunday. They had collected about SR27,000 from a number of pilgrims.

Some of the fake Haj companies were discovered in Kandara and Sharafiya and were found collecting money from pilgrims at the rate of SR4,000 to SR4,500 from each Haji.

Saudi security agencies have deployed a large number of police officers with fingerprinting machines at checkpoints to stop illegals from entering into Makkah.