Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: About 3,000 packages and bags of chewing tobacco to be used and sold as raw materials were seized in Muscat Governorate.
Law Enforcement Officers at the Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) managed to seize nearly 3,000 packages and bags of smokeless chewing tobacco as raw materials for manufacturing and selling. An expatriate worker was caught manufacturing, trading and selling this tobacco in Qurayyat.
CPA, in cooperation with the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has received a report of a suspicious movement of a worker in the industrial area in the wilayat of Qurayyat. This campaign comes from CPA’s control and inspection efforts in all governorates to combat the spread of these toxins among members of society, stop their circulation, seize violators, and present them for trial as per the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law, its executive regulations, and the decisions issued by it.
In cooperation with the Royal Oman Police, CPA has received a notification about a place used for trafficking in chewed, smokeless tobacco in the industrial area in the Wilayat of Qurayyat. The law enforcement officers moved to the notification site and conducted necessary investigations and surveillance.
Based on the information collected, an ambush was made by one of the law enforcement officers who pretended to be purchasing tobacco from the worker at the said area. The expatriate worker was caught red-handed in his private room in one of the workshops in the industrial area by the CPA and Royal Oman Police teams. He was caught while preparing and packing chewed tobacco in preparation for selling them. The team also found 2,995 bags and boxes of non-smoked chewed tobacco stored for use as raw materials for manufacturing and selling chewed tobacco.
The items were found in the kitchen and the drawers of the room.
During the interrogation process, the worker confessed to manufacturing and trading non-smoked chewed tobacco after purchasing raw materials from another expatriate worker. Accordingly, all items were seized, inventory procedures were completed, and the violation report was issued against the expat worker, who has been placed under custody to complete the rest of the procedures. Law enforcement officers have already initiated procedures to trace the source of trafficking in raw materials for the manufacture of these toxins.
The act of the expat worker is considered a violation of the Consumer Protection Law, Resolution No. (256/2015) amended by Resolution No. (301/2016) regarding the prohibition of the circulation of chewed tobacco (non-smoked) in any form and under any name.
The Consumer Protection Authority stresses that it will spare no effort in following up and monitoring the markets, controlling everything that would harm the health and safety of consumers, eliminating this phenomenon, and tracking its sources. It will also work to take all legal measures against violators in cooperation with all relevant organizations and individuals, especially with regards to practices that jeopardize people’s health and safety to risks. CPA also encourages individuals to report any abuses they might notice through the various communication channels for CPA.
