Egypt jails merchant to 5 years for hiding commodities

An Egyptian court yesterday sentenced a merchant to five years in prison for “storing food commodities and exploiting the recent increase in prices.”

Legal sources told the media that the merchant was arrested during a campaign carried out by local authorities against those monopolising food commodities amid an increase in prices.

During the operation, the sources pointed out, the detectives raided a store in Cairo’s Zeytoun neighbourhood, where they found large quantities of food commodities, including rice and oil, stored in the shop.

The sources added that the defendant was referred to the public prosecutor, who jailed him for four days pending investigation, and later referred him to trial, where he was sentenced.

READ: Egypt’s countdown to a new bread uprising