KZN police discover warehouse storing & selling expired food, counterfeit goods in Bluff

DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal police have discovered a warehouse selling expired food, allegedly exported from other countries, in Bluff, south of Durban.  

Officials said it was not clear at this stage which countries the goods come from but it's believed they were shipped into the country.

The items include food, drinks, medication and cosmetics.

Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli was on the scene.

"We're in a warehouse which keeps the goods from a ship. What has been discovered here is very unfortunate for our country because a lot of goods here do not have expiry dates, others are expired, there's counterfeit goods which are not supposed to be in our country," the Premier said.

Ntuli added that the counterfeit goods were not only life-threatening but were affecting the country's economy.  

Police discovered the illicit food items, drinks, medication and clothing kept in storage containers meant for imported goods.  

Ntuli explained that some of the food found was rotten.

"Most of the products are counterfeit products, expired, some without expired dates while some have expiring dates that have a questionable lifespan, like the antibiotics that have a lifespan of more than five years."

He added that the products had a negative impact on the local economy if sold.  

"At times, it also defeats our local product when they are brought in our country to compete, apart from threatening the lives of children, hence you saw some substances like Sniper, which are mixed with foods."