DAMMAM, 16 February — The Court of Grievances here has upheld jail sentences earlier handed down by a lower court to a border guard and two other Saudis after they were convicted of smuggling liquor into the Kingdom from a neighboring country.
The guard was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail, and the other two to two-and-a-half years. They were also fined SR50,000 each.
The guard assisted the other Saudis in smuggling 120 boxes of liquor across the border after they were delivered from Bahrain by boat. He was also found guilty of accepting a SR35,000 bribe.
While being interrogated, the second suspect - a Saudi driver — confessed that he had been commissioned by another Saudi, the third suspect, to bring the boxes from a coastal area to Ahsa in the Eastern Province.
The guilty border guard had instructed the Saudi driver to take the van and its consignment to Ahsa.
However, another border guard team became suspicious of the vehicle’s movement and gave chase. The van slid into a ditch, and the three Saudis were arrested.
