A joint field campaign carried out by Jeddah Governorate Municipality yesterday, Tuesday, resulted in the seizure of 16,450 kilograms of unlicensed tobacco products inside an illegal warehouse in Al-Khumra district south of the governorate, which was being used to pack tobacco products, in addition to running an independent plastic recycling and waste bag production activity.

Director General of Monitoring and Handling Negative Phenomena, Yasser bin Saraj Bakhsh, explained that the field teams inspected the warehouse and found it entirely used for grinding and packing large quantities of unlicensed 'tombac' tobacco, in addition to two rooms designated for worker housing alongside machines and equipment used for processing and manufacturing tobacco products.

He stated that the campaign resulted in the seizure of 16,450 kilograms of raw 'tombac' and 450 bags of ready-made packages of 50 grams each. All seized quantities were destroyed on-site with support from the municipality’s relevant departments, and legal procedures against the violators are ongoing. He added that inspection work revealed another independent activity in the warehouse, a plastic recycling and waste bag production factory bearing a commercial name printed on the products. Usable waste bags were inventoried and handed over to the Istidama Association for the Preservation of Blessings. He noted that the site was secured and legal procedures against its owner are being completed, pending closure after the procedures are finalized.

The campaign was carried out with support from the municipality’s Warehouse Monitoring Department and participation from the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Ministry of Commerce, field control teams, and the Civil Defense, as part of joint efforts to combat illegal activities and enhance regulatory compliance. Jeddah Governorate Municipality affirms it will continue its inspection campaigns to monitor illegal activities and curb unregulated practices that affect public health, calling on citizens and residents to report any observations via the 'Baladi' application or the unified complaints center (940).