The Ministry of Commerce has busted five undocumented workers who were caught red-handed while adulterating auto engine oils.
The workers were caught inside a warehouse while repackaging adulterated oil and marketing it as new.
The inspectors shut down the warehouse south Riyadh and referred the violators to the pertinent authorities for penalties.
The inspectors worked together with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development as well as the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority and the Riyadh Police.
While searching the location, the Ministry’s inspectors discovered that the undocumented workers were tampering with used oils they collected from different auto repair shops. They re-used the oil, packaged it and marketed it as new.
The items seized were 16 plastic tanks with a capacity of 1000 liters, 167 barrels with a volume of 200 liters. They also included ready-for-sale and empty barrels ready for packaging, materials used to make the oil more viscous, stickers of well-known brands, and tools used in the packaging of the adulterated product.
The Ministry of Commerce reiterated its commitment to continue cracking down on violators of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and apply legal procedures against them because these acts deceive and con consumers. The law sets out 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 and banning them from returning to the Kingdom.
The Ministry encourages the general public to report commercial violations by calling the Consumer Reporting Center at 1900 or using the app "A Commercial Violation Report."