A team of inspectors from the Ministry of Commerce busted a group of illegal workers repackaging expired food and cosmetic products and putting new expiry dates on them in a warehouse.
The Ministry destroyed 115,000 perished products including foodstuffs, cosmetics and medical supplies. Over 98,000 packaging stickers and more than 51,000 bottles were confiscated together with stamps and thermal machines, which were used for counterfeiting expiry dates.
The warehouse was closed down in coordination with Makkah Police officers and Makkah Municipality inspectors in Aljamoom Governorate, Makkah Region. The violators were reported to the concerned authorities for penalties in accordance with the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law. The warehouse owner was arraigned and charged. Legal action was taken in collaboration with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
The Ministry of Commerce reiterated its commitment to cracking down on violators of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and applying legal procedures against them because these acts tend to deceive and con consumers. The law provides for penalties of up to three years in prison, financial fines of up to one million riyals or both, defamation of violators at the violator's expense, and deportation of non-Saudi workers.
The Ministry encourages the general public to report commercial violations by calling 1900 or using the “Commercial Violation Report" app.