Picture shows the paraphernalia used by the arrested magicians.

DOHA • Two Arab nationals have been arrested on charges of duping people by promising them promotion in their work place through witchcraft.

The arrests were made by the Crime Prevention Unit of the Ministry of Interior headed by Major Mannahi Khalid Al Hajri.

Acting on a tip-off, detectives from the unit laid a trap and caught the man and his aide red-handed. They were nabbed with the paraphernalia like talisman and oil, among other things, they used to perpetrate their crime.

The duo confessed to having targeted clerks and charged them huge sums for promising them promotion. The charges were fixed depending on the kind of promotion a victim desired.

According to Al Sharq, Arabs, including GCC nationals, are quite susceptible to witchcraft and believe that they can get their individual and family problems solved through it.

People in the Arab world give away an incredible $5bn a year on an average to those who claim to practice witchcraft. Unmarried women wanting to marry are more susceptible.