Bareskrim Investigates Syndicate in Illegal Hajj Case, Operating 127 Times Since 2024
Indonesia’s National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim), through the Sub-Task Force for Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Hajj Task Force, is delving into the practices of a syndicate organising illegal Hajj departures. Records show that this group has dispatched pilgrims without official channels 127 times since 2024.
The Director of Special Criminal Investigation at Bareskrim, Brigadier General Mohammad Irhamni, stated that this revelation resulted from cooperation with immigration authorities at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Police have interrogated eight individuals strongly suspected of involvement in the syndicate.
“We conducted examinations on 18 April, involving eight people reasonably suspected of carrying out illegal Hajj activities. They have done this 127 times since early 2024,” Irhamni told reporters at Bareskrim headquarters in South Jakarta on Thursday (30/4/2026).
He confirmed that these eight individuals examined in Indonesia are distinct from the case of three Indonesian nationals arrested by Saudi security forces in Mecca. The departure of this group was thwarted before they could leave the country.
Irhamni explained that the syndicate targets Indonesian citizens with promises of instant Hajj departures. To deceive officials, they manipulate travel documents by using worker visas.
“They recruit people for illegal Hajj departures, disguising them as worker visas. However, the intention is for this year’s Hajj pilgrimage,” he clarified.
Although administratively these pilgrims are recorded as migrant workers, Bareskrim found strong evidence of manipulation. According to Irhamni, this evidence was discovered by officers while checking communication devices of the perpetrators and pilgrims.
“We found evidence; although the administration is for workers, in their phone conversations, we discovered that their intention was for Hajj worship,” he revealed.
Currently, Bareskrim investigators are pursuing the intellectual actors or agents who are the brains behind the visa manipulation. Polri is also targeting companies that oversee these illegal departures.
“One of the agents is the mastermind providing the administration or preparing the visas. We will chase down everyone involved in preparing visas or administration to manipulate their departures, when in fact they are for Hajj worship,” he explained.
Irhamni advised the public not to be easily tempted by offers of quick Hajj trips that often appear in study group forums. According to him, it is impossible for an official Hajj route to depart in the same year as registration without years of queuing.
“Usually, participants or study group members are invited or register themselves as Hajj pilgrims. Normally, they must queue for several years, but they are lured with promises of departing this year if they register this year,” Irhamni added.