Jambi Ministry Of Religion Receives Report Of Alleged Umrah Travel Fraud From Jepara

JAMBI - The Ministry of Religion of Jambi Province received a report from a local Umrah travel agent suspected of being a victim of a Umrah travel fraud from Jepara, Central Java.

The Head of the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah at the Jambi Provincial Ministry of Religion, Wahyudi, said that currently his party had received a report from one of the local Umrah travel agents regarding the absence of a return ticket from Jeddah to Indonesia for travel agents and dozens of Umrah pilgrims on November 4, 2023.

Wahyudi appreciated the steps taken by the Jambi Umrah agent who was responsible for all Umrah pilgrims by buying flight tickets from Jeddah to Jambi using personal funds.

The Jambi Provincial Ministry of Religion will ask for information from the Jambi travel agent who is a victim to be reported to the Ministry of Religion in order to impose sanctions if there are violations committed by the Umrah travel service company from Central Java.

"This sanction is under the authority of the Central Ministry of Religion, we in the regions are limited to submitting reports and chronology, of course, the Central Ministry of Religion will clarify again to the travel side and if there are sanctions, there will be several sanctions until the heaviest is the revocation of travel permits," he said.

Previously, it was reported that 42 Umrah pilgrims from Jambi could not return to their homeland because the owner of the Umrah trip PT Miftah Safari Internusa (MSI) did not buy Jeddah-Jambi flight ticket until the time of return.

Based on information from the Jambi travel agent Habib, it was explained that he and 42 Jambi pilgrims were stuck in Jeddah from November 4 to November 8, 2023 because the owner of the head office Umrah trip did not buy their return ticket. Even though all the travel costs for pilgrims from Jambi have been deposited with the central travel.

"Umrah pilgrims should return to their homeland on November 4 but until November 8, we have not been able to return home," he said.

Habib admitted that as an accountability as Jambi's agent, he bought the departure ticket and return of the Umrah pilgrims and covered all tickets, handling, and lodging during the congregation in Jakarta.

Regarding this incident, Habib has reported it to the technical matters of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah until the report has now also arrived in Indonesia. Currently, all the pilgrims and Umrah agents have returned to Jambi Province on Friday morning.

"Arriving in Jakarta, we were immediately greeted by the Soetta Airport police. The police have asked for our information regarding this incident. As directed, we are also ready to report this to the Jambi Police regarding the witnesses currently in Jambi," he said.

As a result of this incident, the Jambi Umrah travel agent suffered a loss of up to Rp700 million. The owner of MSI Tour Miftahuddin when confirmed by the media by telephone said that his party would resolve this issue amicably, he hoped that Jambi agents would not take this matter to court.

"We hope that the mediation process and I will try to pay the funds of Jambi agents that have been used," he said.