Chicken Meat Theft Scandal Rocks Cuban Food Industry
A case of food theft has rocked the COPMAR Food Marketing Company, a part of the fishing business group of the Ministry of the Food Industry in Cuba. The theft affected the distribution of 133 tons of chicken, which was meant for the basic family basket in Cuba but never reached the population.
The police investigation is still ongoing, with some preliminary results already obtained. Efforts are underway to identify all those involved and bring them to justice.
A report on Cuban Television revealed that the police discovered the theft of 1,660 boxes of chicken in the state entity of Havana, which depends on the Mincin. The general director of the company, Rigoberto Mustelier Sandoval, stated that this amount of food could be the family basket of a medium-sized province.
Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Galera Cerrera, from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), explained that there were workers involved who changed the official seals of the entity for false ones that they brought from the street, with the help of meat processing plant workers.
According to the television report, among the alleged perpetrators of the theft there are shift managers, technologists, custodians, and unemployed people who did not work at the company. The MININT reported that there are 30 defendants, 11 of them in preventive detention.
The accused could receive sentences of up to 20 years in prison for crimes such as embezzlement, bribery, and failure to protect state assets, according to the report.
In eight home searches, the Police found items that were supposedly purchased with the money obtained from that sale, including computers, air conditioners, televisions, and refrigerators, as well as several million pesos and an undisclosed amount of dollars.
The report indicated that the company’s CEO and senior officials were dismissed over the case. Due to this type of disorders and corruption, hundreds of thousands of families were left without food. This case has raised concerns about the security of the food supply in Cuba and the potential impact on the population.