DAMMAM, 10 September 2003 — A new scam here has thieves taking goods meant for charity and selling them in the market after cleaning and repairing them. In recent weeks the trend has increased at an alarming rate, and charities are at a loss as to how to curb the practice.
In the last few years, charities like the International Islamic Relief Organization, WAMY, MWL and others have set up stations in several public locations in the Eastern Province. Residents were asked to leave clothes and other unused items that were still in good condition there.
According to an official of a charity organization, large amounts of goods were sent to various countries around the world, and collection from the stations has been substantial. But officials say that in the last few weeks donations at some of the stations appeared to be down.
“It never occurred to us that people would be stealing goods meant for the poorest of the poor,” said a volunteer with a relief agency in Alkhobar. “We were shocked to discover that some people were taking clothes, shoes and several other usable goods and then selling them after getting them cleaned and repaired,” he said.
Clothes top the list of popular items. Lifting the clothes from the stations in bulk, the thieves sort them, and saleable items are washed and if necessary patched up. The clothes then reappear in markets in Alkhobar and Dammam. For some reason they are mostly winter clothes.
Suspicions have been raised that the operation has an international dimension as there is a flourishing used clothes market in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There have been previous reports that charity goods destined for these countries ended up in the market and did not reach the needy.
