REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Police have zeroed in on five people who may be charged with facilitating the departure of 177 illegal Indonesian hajj pilgrims.

"Five people may be named suspects," director of general crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim), Brigadier General Agus Andrianto, said at the National Police Headquarters here on Monday (9/5).

These five are believed to be holding Malaysian and Philippine passports and work for travel agents, he added.

One of the five people, identified by his initials as HR, is believed to be the mastermind in the case.

"One of them, identified by his initials HR, holds two passports. And HR is the mastermind in this case," he claimed.

The police have so far interrogated 64 people in the case.

The Philippine immigration authorities had detained the 177 Indonesian hajj pilgrims for trying to travel on fake Philippine passports on August 19.

They were detained shortly before they were to embark on an airline that would have flown them to Medina, Saudi Arabia.

They reportedly paid around US$6,000 - US$10,000 per person for the pilgrimage.

This year, Saudi Arabia had allocated to Indonesia a pilgrim quota of 168,800, reduced from the earlier more than 200,000 a year, due to the ongoing renovation work in Masjidil Haram.

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