Saudi police raid fake Zamzam water factory

Saudi police have announced they have uncovered a new clandestine operation bottling knock-off holy Zamzam water in the Meccan district of al-Shawqia, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Police-chief Mamdouh bin Mohammad Iraqi said the local police have recently upped their efforts to crackdown on illicit factories bottling fake Zamzam water and selling it off to pilgrims.

“Police raided a counterfeit Zamzam water botting operation on Sunday. The operation was shut down, everything confiscated and the suspects arrested,” Iraqi added.

Last week, Mecca municipality seized about 3,500 gallons of fake Zamzam water from a warehouse in the al-Kaakiya neighborhood of Macca.

A black market for Zamzam water has emerged in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, where more than 15 million Muslims make pilgrimage to each year.

Muslims consider water taken from the Zamzam Well in Mecca to be sacred, pilgrims are allowed to bring back small amounts from Saudi Arabia.

In May 2011, a BBC investigation found that fraudulent Zamzam water contained high levels of nitrate, potentially harmful bacteria, and arsenic at levels three times the legal limit in the UK.