Dubai: The Ministry of Commerce in Saudi Arabia has detained 13 workers for illegally operating a commercial firm involved in the trade of expired seafood, a serious breach of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.
During coordinated raids, inspection teams, in collaboration with agencies including the Riyadh Region Police, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, and the Riyadh Region Municipality, seized 264 tons of seafood.
The haul included fish, shrimp, crab sticks, and crabs, some of which were of unknown origin or were imported items misrepresented as local products.
Authorities also confiscated over 800,000 containers that were used for repackaging the expired products with new, falsified expiry dates.
The operation led to the closure of the firm’s main office in Al Murabba neighbourhood and its warehouse in the Al Sulay area of Riyadh. The workers involved were handed over to the Public Prosecution to face legal proceedings under the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and the Anti-Concealment Law. All seized items were destroyed and their distribution to sales outlets was halted.
The Ministry of Commerce has reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing the law strictly against those who violate the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law. Offenders face up to three years in prison, fines up to SR1 million, or both.
Additionally, the names of convicted individuals will be published in local media at their own expense. The ministry also emphasised that illegal workers would be deported and barred from re-entering the Kingdom on a work visa.
