Tons of subsidized rice, sugar, lentils & milk found in Jleeb warehouse raid

Two Asians confess stacking foodstuff in store

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 13: The Ministry of Interior announced the seizure of 1,000 kilos of rice and 600 kilos of sugar and other subsidized food supplies which were intended to be smuggled out of the country, reports Al-Rai daily.

“The Criminal Security Sector of Investigations Department of Farwaniya Governorate has detained two Asians and seized from them large quantities of statesubsidized supplies from a storehouse in the suburb of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh,” said a press release issued by the Directorate General of Public Relations and Security Media Department of the Interior Ministry.

The sources explained that after receiving information about the existence of warehouses for storing state-subsidized supplies in the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh area, the place was put under surveillance and two people were seen transporting the goods.

Armed with a search and arrest warrant from the Public Prosecution the place was raided and various types of foodstuffs were seized including 1,000 kilos of rice, 600 kilos of sugar, 250 kilos of lentils, 36 large packages of Dalal oil and 48 cans of baby formula food was seized.

During interrogation the Asians are said to have confessed to the charges filed against them. They also said the foodstuff was to be smuggled out of the country.

The men have been referred to the concerned authorities.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said it has opened three fronts to put an end to smuggling operations which happen through the border outlets.

The first front concerns raiding supply centers, second to intensify supervision of over land freight companies, and the third to inspect supermarkets to prevent the subsidized foodstuffs from finding its way out of the country.

The Al-Rai daily accompanied the inspection team of the Farwaniya Governorate for Commercial Control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on a special tour.

The inspectors visited a supply center in the Farwaniya area, and an inventory of the stock was carried out in terms of the quantity received to match with quantity of stock available and the already disbursed.

The team also moved to the headquarters of the land freight companies in Khaitan to inspect trucks and storage centers to ensure they no subsidized supplies have found their way to these outlets.

The team also took an undertaking from the transport companies not to entertain those who deal in subsidized foodstuffs and warned them of legal accountability.

An inspection observer at the Commercial Control Department, Consumer Protection Sector, Farwaniya Governorate, Khaled Al-Hajri said, “We conduct inspection rounds at the supply centers to ensure the proper functioning of the supply centers, and to ensure that the food supplies prescribed by law are dispensed and that there are no differences in the quantities of supplies during the inventory operations and to ensure goods are dispensed according to the ration card.

The inspection tours included shipping and export companies, to ensure these companies are not involved in smuggling out of the country food supplies, because smuggling or exporting them is against the law.

Al-Hajri pointed out that the field inspection team of the Ministry of Commerce has seized supplies sold on the black market by street vendors, and the Kuwait Municipality emergency was notified of this violation, to take the appropriate action according to Kuwait Municipality’s law because such violations fall within the jurisdiction of the Municipality.

In other news concerning what was published by the daily about subsidized foodstuff seizures made by the customs officers at the Salmi border point, the cooperative societies, transport and shipping companies have washed off their hands saying that they are aware of what is being smuggled out of the country.

Fares Shadid, a manager of a transport and shipping company, told Al-Rai that his company “fully refuses to ship food supplies, and we inspect all items in the presence of their owners, and whoever refuses this inspection we apologize and do not deal with such people.