Female Inspection Teams Proposed for City Entrances

[demdave]

JEDDAH, 17 March 2004 — The Passports Department has recommended posting female inspection teams at all checkpoints in the Kingdom.

A source at the department told Arab News that deployment of female inspectors at checkpoints in Makkah during the Haj season had been very successful, particularly in spotting Umrah overstayers disguised as women.

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The need for policewomen had increased after the Interior Ministry confirmed that “terrorist organizations were able to recruit women to help in their operations and escape.”

“There is also information that the terrorists are seeking to include women in their network because they are easier to infiltrate security checks,” the sources said.

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During a raid on a suspected terrorist hideout in Madinah in June, police arrested three women including the wife of Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Faqaasi, the alleged mastermind of the May 12 Riyadh bombing. Police also detained four women for allegedly collaborating with a terrorist cell in Makkah.


http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=41363&d=17&m=3&y=2004