In a crackdown against black market for Zamzam water in Saudi Arabia, authorities have destroyed thousands of bottles and numerous illegal refilling plants. In order to halt the black market from flourishing and ensure the provision of pure Zamzam water to people, Saudi government has permitted only specific authorized stores to sell the precious water. Demand of Zamzam accelerates in Ramazan as people prefer to break their fast in Iftar by this water.
Meanwhile, pilgrims also buy large quantities of Zamzam to take back home. More than 3,000 bottles of adulterated Zamzam water bearing the stickers of the King Abdullah Zamzam Water Project were confiscated in Madina. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, a factory was shutdown in Buraidah after 6,500 bottles were recovered from it. A warehouse was sealed in Makkah and some 200,000 bottles weere destroyed by the ministry In Hail, the ministry found 1,600 bottles of fake Zamzam water. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority have warned customers from buying Zamzam water from unauthorized shops.