Gendarmerie destroys large quantities of Watermelon filled out with Butane Gas

Services of the national gendarmerie in many wilayas destroyed areas planted with large amounts of “watermelon” that were irrigated with water mixed with butane gas, to enlarge its size and add it weight ,and made it look of a good quality, despite its danger on the health of consumers.

In this context Echorouk sources said that the services of the national gendarmerie received information about a new way of cheating adopted by farmers, therefor they moved to the place where they destroyed large quantities of watermelon, in a number of wilayas of the center and west of Algeria, like the region of “Bouhnifia”, Tlemcen, Relizane, Tipaza and Blida (western Algeria), where they arrested the owners of these quantities in the act, while they were emptying bottles of butane gas.

According to the preliminary investigations carried out by the teams of research, belonging to the national gendarmerie, 70% of gas per bottle was emptied in water basins for irrigating watermelon and other fruits, as the gases of the butane is used to enlarge the size and increase the weight of watermelon, in a way that makes it look with large size and good quality, and what is more dangerous is that some farmers mixed diesel in irrigation water until it looks red, although it poses a threat to public health after consumption, up to the point of death.