27 people arrested for forging expiration dates of imported fish

The General Directorate of Criminal Investigations, represented by the Counterfeiting and Forgery Crimes Combat Department, arrested 27 suspects for their involvement in tampering with the expiration dates of imported fish, as part of ongoing security efforts to combat commercial fraud and protect consumers. The Ministry of Interior announced in a statement that the arrests followed intelligence reports and investigations revealing that the suspects altered production and expiration dates on boxes of imported fish by printing labels with false dates, aiming to extend their shelf life and sell them to restaurants, companies, and retail stores. It added that, after obtaining authorization from the Public Prosecution, specialized teams moved to the Central Fish Market, where the suspects were apprehended and 16 refrigerated transport vehicles containing 894 boxes of imported fish with tampered expiration dates were seized, along with a computer used to prepare and print counterfeit labels. It confirmed that, upon interrogation, the suspects admitted to altering expiration dates contrary to the truth, using the services of a printing company. Furthermore, visits to the offices of two other companies linked to the case revealed they were merely registered addresses with no actual commercial activity. The statement noted that the suspects and seized items were referred to the competent authorities to take the necessary legal actions against them.