Thirteen People Suspected of Illicit Hajj Departure Detained at Ngurah Rai Airport

Thirteen Indonesian nationals were stopped from departing at Ngurah Rai International Airport’s International Departure Terminal by the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office, Special Class I TPI Ngurah Rai. They were suspected of intending to perform the Hajj irregularly on Friday, 22 May 2026. Initially, immigration officers inspected seven Indonesians and found irregularities in the group of passengers bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ‘In routine checks, officers found lack of clarity regarding the purpose of the group’s departure. The passengers could not show visas appropriate for their travel,’ said Ferry Tri Ardhiansyah, Head of the Information Technology and Communications Directorate of Immigration, on Saturday, 23 May 2026. The officers then found six more people in the group who had previously passed through the autogate. The six were called for further examination, bringing the total number of examined members to 13. During the follow-up examination, discrepancies emerged in the statements of each member regarding their purposes for departure. A WhatsApp group named