Saudi authorities have apprehended illegal expatriates for storing and reselling substandard dates in Riyadh, altering expiry dates to misrepresent the product's quality. The operation, conducted by the Ministry of Commerce alongside the Ministry of Human Resources and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, unveiled the scam within an apartment in the southern part of the city. The illegal activity involved repackaging inferior dates with labels of premium varieties.
Authorities confiscated 400 kg of the compromised dates, alongside materials used for repackaging, including 3,000 plastic packets and 5,000 cardboard crates, plus 100,000 counterfeit stickers of various date brand names and falsified expiry dates. Seven individuals have been detained and are facing charges under the kingdom's stringent anti-commercial fraud statutes, which may result in imprisonment, hefty fines, or both, in addition to deportation for foreign nationals involved.
Source: gulfnews.com