Two residents of Radovish have been criminally charged on suspicion that they had been producing and selling ice for years without authorization, in unhygienic conditions and with a risk to public health. The investigation found bacteria in the ice they produced, while the water was supplied through an illegal connection to the water-supply network.
Të lidhura
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The Strumica Sector for Internal Affairs–Radovish Police Station filed a criminal complaint with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Radovish against T.D. (62) and S.D. (62), both from Radovish. They are suspected of having continuously committed the criminal offense of “producing and placing harmful food products and other products on the market,” as provided for in Article 213 of the Criminal Code.
According to police information, the defendants operated as unregistered ice producers and prepared the product in improvised and unhygienic conditions. They then placed the ice on the market in an unsafe manner, selling it to legal entities and individuals.
On 16 September 2026, after obtaining a court order, police officers from the Strumica Sector for Internal Affairs–Radovish Police Station, together with a state food inspector from the Food and Veterinary Agency, inspected the home and other premises at four locations used by the two suspects.
On the terrace of the ground-floor section of the house where the defendants lived, freezers filled with a large number of bags of ice cubes were found. The product had been placed on sale on a self-service basis, while payments were deposited in a separate box.
The inspection of the basement uncovered four machines for producing ice cubes, as well as another refrigerator-freezer containing large quantities of ice cubes packed in bags for sale.
At the state inspector’s order, specialists from an accredited laboratory for food and water analysis collected samples of the water used as a raw material, ready-made ice taken from the bags in the three freezers, and samples from the production equipment.
The results of the microbiological and chemical analyses showed that only the water used met the parameters set by the Regulation on Requirements for the Safety and Quality of Drinking Water. The other samples did not comply with the standards, as the presence of Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria was confirmed in them. According to the authorities, this demonstrated that the ice was unsafe and harmful to human health because of contamination with bacteria of fecal origin.
After the results were received, the Food and Veterinary Agency sealed and seized the production equipment, as well as the freezers in which the ready-made ice was stored, weighing approximately 850 kilograms.
During the operation, it was also established that production was carried out through water pipes installed at several points. Employees of the “Plavaja” public utility company in Radovish determined that the water used in the basement was not passing through a water meter.
T.D. and S.D. were arrested and detained at the Police Station in Radovish.
