Tunisia – Dismantling of consumer product handling network

Agents from the Tunis Regional Administration for Trade and Export Development dismantled a dangerous network that specialized in manipulating consumer goods. This network was also implicated in promoting the sale of bananas at excessive prices across the major governorates in Tunisia. According to available data, the starting point in the finding of the network was after the services of the Regional Administration of Trade and Exports of Tunis, in coordination with the national security district of Tunis, managed to confiscate a truck light operated by a broker and a known speculator, because it was used to promote bananas to vegetable and cereal sellers in Greater Tunis, at increasingly high prices.

According to the same data, the research made it feasible to discover a food company active in Greater Tunis whose owner was intentionally promoting semolina and flour in a manner against the law and regulations in force which would undermine the good market supply.

Control operations resulted in the seizure of approximately a ton of subsidized raw materials, including semolina, flour and sugar, in addition to around half a ton of bananas.

It was decided to draw up investigative reports against the persons concerned to hold stocks for speculation purposes and to intend them to be marketed by a person not meeting the conditions to exercise trade, and violating the regime of grant. It was decided to open an inquiry against one of the main commercial spaces for concealing subsidized goods “semolina, flour, sugar”, following the seizure of approximately 300 kilograms of sugar in bulk, suspected of being supplied to a neighbouring governorate via circuitous routes.