Store closed, fake goods seized

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce recently closed down a store in Jeddah that was found involved in producing sponge products like mattresses by using discarded and contaminated material from waste bins.
More than 2,000 pieces of such mattresses were seized while those running the store were summoned for investigation.
Earlier, inspectors of the ministry visited a number of locations and stores that were being used to produce and store fake goods. Accordingly, they detected two rest houses in Al-Sanabil District, southern province, bearing no boards and raided them in coordination with the security authorities.
The inspectors found the workers at the site using material or mattresses collected from waste containers to refurbish them. They later put well-known trade marks on them such as “Sleep Jowhar”, “Pure Sleep”, “Bright Star”, “Star Dream”, and “Ihsan” with the intention of selling them in the market.
The inspectors seized some 500 such mattresses that were ready for distribution, 1,500 pieces of damaged sheets, four machines for making mattress coverings and an air compressor.
Earlier, the ministry announced closure of a store in the southern part of Jeddah Province, following involvement of workers in refurbishing sponge products after collecting them from waste containers.
It also announced the closure of another store in the province for similar reasons. Yet another facility was closed in Riyadh where workers were involved in producing such mattresses and pillows.
The ministry said it would never hesitate to apply strict penalties on those committing fraudulent practices which expose customers to health risk.