Manama: Saudi authorities have arrested two Arabs on charges of selling illegal sexual stimulant herbs at their shops.
The two shops were raided as a committee tasked with following up on traditional herb medicine dealers was conducting an inspection into a major street in Makkah in western Saudi Arabia.
The authorities seized herbs, pastes, oils and creams that purportedly boost sexual performance and treat liver and heart diseases and hemorrhoids.
None of the 1,861 confiscated items was licenced by the Saudi health ministry or any other department, Saudi news site Sabq reported on Thursday.
A government inspector checking the herbs. (Sabq)
An analysis of the items concluded they contained harmful substances that had a high risk of developing kidney and liver failure.
The two shops were shut down for 15 days and the salesmen were referred to the competent authorities for legal action.
Online users called for stringent action against such shops, arguing that they use their location near the Grand Mosque to dupe people into believing they were selling certified and licenced products that would cure them.
“The punitive action should go beyond the shopkeepers to include the sponsors who bring them into the country,” Al Fajr said. “As soon as the expatriate is in and encouraged to earn money, he sets up shop and starts selling harmful products. There is a need to protect society and visitors to the holy sites. Sponsors have to be held accountable for this flagrant abuse,” Fajr said.
