Congregants Fail To Fly, Umrah Travel Service Entrepreneurs In Tulungagung Detained By Police

The police led the suspect HW, the alleged fraud of the Umrah service package at the Tulungagung Police Headquarters, Monday (4/12/2023) (ANTARA/HO - Tulungagung Police)

TULUNGAGUNG - Satreskrim Polres Tulungagung, East Java has arrested and detained a Umrah travel service entrepreneur who was reported by a number of victims for alleged fraud, so they failed to go to the Holy Land of Mecca.

"The perpetrators were reported by two victims of LS and her husband, a resident of Srikaton Village, Ngantru District, Tulungagung," said Tulungagung Police Chief, AKBP Teuku Arsya Gaddafi, quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 5.

The perpetrator who was detained had the initials HW, the President Director of PT. Arofa Mina and had his address at Kalisari Village, Mulyorejo District, Surabaya City.

His status has been raised from the reported witness to suspect.

The police investigated the case after a complaint emerged from two victim witnesses who were a married couple, having their address at Srikaton Village, Ngantru District, Tulungagung.

In front of the police, the two victims claimed to have registered for Umrah to the Holy Land at a cost of Rp. 64 million.

However, until the scheduled departure, it turned out that the victim failed to fly to Saudi Arabia.

This victim had time to Jakarta but failed to leave.

"Because they failed to leave, the two victims reported the case to the police," said Teuku Arsya.

The police, who handled the alleged HW fraud case, even found new facts about the victim, not only two people.

Of the total 4,700 people recruited, there were a thousand prospective Umrah pilgrims who failed to leave.

Of that number, 700 prospective Umrah pilgrims were dispatched through other Umrah service bureaus, while the other 300 people chose the option of rescheduling departures and refunding fees that had already been deposited.

"From the statements of the witnesses we examined, including from the suspect as the reported party, there were 140 people who received a rescheduling scheme ( umrah departure) while 165 chose to return the funds or refund, including these two victims. However, until now the promised money funds have not been returned," he explained.

The police said the losses suffered by the two victims of the Umrah case reached Rp. 64 million, but in total with 162 other victims the amount of losses incurred reached Rp. 5 billion.

As a result of this case, suspect HW must be detained at the Tulungagung Police Station and charged with Article 372/378 of the Criminal Code with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.