Man jailed in UK for conning Muslim pilgrims

[Al-khiyal]

Man jailed in UK for conning Muslim pilgrims

LONDON, July 10, 2009 (KUNA) -- A man who conned Muslim pilgrims out of half a million pounds and spent it in casinos and betting shops has been jailed for six years, the Metropolitan Police said Friday. Mohammed Faruk Ahmed ran a firm called "Quibla Hajj Kafela Services" in east London offering packages for the Hajj, the annual trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He took thousands of pounds and passports from hundreds of victims in the Bangladeshi community before disappearing shortly before the 2008 trip was due to take place. His worried clients called police as the deadline for visa applications approached and there was no sign of Ahmed. A police raid of his offices found over 300 passports and paperwork for over 600,000 pounds in pilgrimage fees. They also found proof that much of the money had been spent in casinos and bookmakers, the Metropolitan Police added. The 41-year-old from east London pleaded guilty to 17 charges of fraud and money laundering at Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London, last month and was sentenced at the same court today. Detective Inspector Des McHugh said "Ahmed shamelessly defrauded hundreds of innocent victims who had planned the most significant trip of their lives" "We worked hard to investigate the full scale of Ahmed's crime and officers placed themselves under additional pressure to process evidence and return passports to victims as soon as possible," said McHugh.

[amalgamate]

I heard many stories of theft when contracting with random Hajj groups. If you don't know the leader and trust him, then I advise not to join the group.

[Bent_Bladi]

that is SOOOOOOOOO jacked up.... omg people save up their whole LIVES for this... ya haram ya haram