Authorities have seized more than 3,000 tons of polluted and recycled sponge in seven warehouses in Riyadh. A group of illegal workers at the sites were also taken into custody.
An official from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) said that the sponge had been collected by the workers from municipal dumps all over the city. The seizure occurred as a result of MCI inspectors monitoring a truck collecting recycled and discarded mattresses from municipal waste bins and the dump in Al-Sulay quarter, east of Riyadh.
The case has been referred to the concerned committee in the Ministry for taking necessary legal action. The Saudi sponsors who were managing the stores were also charged for the offense.
The sponge is sold to factories for making mattresses and pillows under unregistered trade marks, the official said. The violating sites were shut down by the MCI, while those responsible were summoned for investigation and legal procedures begun against them.
The raids came during MCI inspection rounds of warehouses and commercial institutions to verify their regular operations, to ensure the absence of fraud and to eliminate the supply of counterfeit and substandard products on the local market.
The MCI emphasized that it would not hesitate to impose penalties on offenders and those involved in fraud, which endangers the health and safety of consumers. It called on consumers to make complaints on the toll free number 1900.
Source: Arab News