Manama: Police in Saudi Arabia have apprehended an Arab woman who used a razor blade to steal 60,000 riyals (Dh58,760), gold worth 12,590 riyals and 25 mobiles inside Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
The thief, whose nationality was not revealed, had also stolen cameras, mobile batteries and bags, the police said.
Abdul Kareem Al Zahrani, the head of investigations at the Grand Mosque’s security forces, said that they apprehended the woman after they spotted her using a razor blade to slice pockets and rob her victims.
Conducting a search of her room in a nearby hotel, the police found 59,600 riyals in various currencies, gold items, 25 mobiles including smartphones, mobile batteries, five cameras and 11 women’s bags, local news site Sabq reported on Tuesday.
“We are in constant surveillance of the Grand Mosque to apprehend anyone who attempts to abuse the worshippers,” Yahya Al Zahrani, the head of the special forces at the mosque, said.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are keen on performing Umrah during the sacred month of Ramadan, making the Grand Mosque one of the most crowded areas in the world.
Reports in Makkah have often referred to the arrest of thieves, and at times to organised gangs, that target worshippers as they pray at the mosque or circumnavigate the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam.
