Tipu-tipu Bureau Umrah, Warga Bandung Rugikan 22 Orang Ditangkap Di Garut

The police showed evidence of a case of Umrah travel fraud in Garut Regency, West Java, Thursday (7/12/2023). (ANTARA/Feri Purnama)

The Garut Resort Police (Polres) arrested suspect Dani (40), a suspect in the fraud of the Umrah pilgrimage with 22 people with a loss value of around Rp. 400 million.

Garut Police Chief AKBP Rohman Yonki Dilatha said the victims consisted of 21 residents of Pamulihan District, Garut Regency, and one resident of Tasikmalaya.

"One person has been arrested and named a suspect in connection with the fraud case of Umrah departure, the incident occurred in Garut, Pamulihan District," he said during a press conference on the disclosure of the umrah fraud case in Garut, Thursday, December 7, which was confiscated by Antara.

He said that the suspect Dani, a resident of Bandung, was reported by his victim to the Garut Police on charges of committing fraud offering cheap Umrah promos to residents so that many were interested and deposited money.

Based on the victim's report, said the Police Chief, the police finally arrested the perpetrator, along with evidence in the form of passports, reading books for Umrah, suitcases, and several other items as evidence of the suspect's crime.

"The evidence that we confiscated was a suitcase, an active passport with the names of each victim, evidence of the transfer money, and others," said the Police Chief.

He revealed that the suspect's modus operandi was to admit that the owner of the Umrah bureau was PT Angkasa Bintang Madinah.

The suspect then promised one of the victims that he would send Umrah on condition that he could find other prospective pilgrims.

The suspect offered a special promo to Koran teachers or Ustaz by paying a fee of Rp. 6 million. For prospective pilgrims who cannot afford it, they will be subsidized by philanthropists who meet the suspect, while the general public costs Rp. 30 million.

"Finally, 22 congregants were collected and the victim had handed over the fee to the suspect," he said.

The suspect's actions have been carried out since June 2023, then promised departure time on November 18, 2023. Prior to the departure time, prospective pilgrims took care of all permits, such as passports and others, and even carried out Hajj rituals.

The suspect then prepared a bus and took all the victims to a hotel in Jakarta and stayed for three days. During that time, the victim asked the suspect again about the schedule for the Umrah departure.

"After being in Jakarta, the congregation was not dispatched because the suspect had not provided plane tickets and visas, so the congregation asked to be sent home," he said.

The police chief said that upon arrival in Garut, the victim reported the incident that happened to him to the Garut Police, then an investigation was carried out until the suspect was finally arrested for legal proceedings.

He appealed to the public to always be careful and not easily tempted by promo offers or low-cost Umrah trips so as not to become victims of similar frauds.

"From here it is a valuable lesson so as not to be tempted by cheap Umrah, lest residents become victims of cheap and unnatural Umrah," he said.

As a result of his actions, the suspect who was named the sole perpetrator is currently in the Garut Police Headquarters detention cell to undergo legal proceedings and is charged with Articles 378 and 372 of the Criminal Code concerning embezzlement and fraud with a penalty of four years in prison.