Ministry of Commerce and Industry inspectors have discovered fraud of 3,940 kilograms of gold valued at KD 50,000 (USD 165,000) at a gold store in Al-Rai district. The case was later referred to prosecution.
The Ministry added in a statement Tuesday that the forged items were gold jewelry items of Indian precision.
Cavities in the gold jewelry have been filled with cheap materials in order to increase their weight and sell them as pure gold.
The ministry will take all needed procedures against the forgers, who have already been referred to the competent authorities, the statement added.
The ministry will increase inspection of gold and jewelry markets to verify validity and condition of scales and percentage of precious stones engraved with the items displayed for sale. The Ministry is supervising all the precious metals and stones, whether those displayed at the stores or produced in factories locally or coming from abroad, it said.
It will penalize counterfeiters to protect the consumers, the statement concluded.