TAIF: Police found quantities of rotten meat from dead and sick goats being slaughtered and prepared by three expats before shipment to a number of restaurants.
Three Syrian expats converted a farm near Souk Okaz as a place of slaughter and storage. The location was raided under the leadership of the head of the Taif Police, Brig. Abdulrahman bin Salem Al-Thamali and Col. Abdullah bin Ali Al-Harithi, follow-up director, and meat slaughtered in violation of safety conditions and kept in unhygienic refrigerators before transport to well-known restaurants in the governorate were found, with the invoices found on the expatriates.
Other materials, whose sources were unknown, were also found on the location before they were to be sent to pastry shops. Sources say all seized items were sent to the Al-Arafa Police Center north of Taif.
The expats admitted their violations and a joint statement was drawn up by the police and the municipality. They are being referred for legal proceedings.
Official Spokesman of Taif Municipality Ismail Ibrahim explained that a special group of environmental health specialists in the Municipality of North Taif were present on the site at the time, and confiscated the materials. At the same time teams of environmental health specialists from the city of Taif were dispatched to the restaurants suspecting of using such meat.
Ibrahim clarified that the health of residents takes top priority at the municipality and legal proceedings will be taken against these restaurants if found guilty. The restaurants will be closed and penalties applied.