Mashar Group's stranded pilgrims brought back

The Maldivians that were stranded in Mecca, gone for the Umrah pilgrimage under the care of Mashar Tours & Travels group have been brought safely back to Maldives.

The 50 people who went on Umrah last Ramadan via Mashar Tours were due to return to Maldives on the 16th of this month. They were told at the very last minute that their tickets had been cancelled due to some issue with the payment.

Some of the group's Umrah pilgrims said that the group asked the people to buy their own tickets to return home, and that they would be reimbursed later.

Mohamed Firag, managing director of travel agent Ace Aviation, which sold tickets to the group from Sri Lankan Airlines and Qatar Airways, said the pilgrims could not arrive because the checks issued by the group to buy the tickets had bounced.

“The amount we are owed will certainly reach a million,” Firag said.

It is learned that the stranded pilgrims were finally brought to Maldives after the group paid the money.

With Umrah pilgrims stranded in Mecca, the Islamic Ministry had filed a police complaint against Mashar Tours for illegally extorting money from people for Umrah.

The Islamic Ministry had issued warnings in January against the Mashar group and other groups for charging money for Umrah without the ministry’s permission.

A similar case of this group surfaced during Ramadan last year. The ministry had to revoke the group's permission after the cheque they provided was bounced. This time, the group took people to Umrah by changing their name.