JEDDAH, 26 May 2003 — Police have seized 16,000 liters of alcohol in 64 barrels, worth an estimated SR800,000. The authorities also arrested the men — all from Asia and Africa — who locally produced and sold the alcohol.
The bust came following a raid of two houses in south Jeddah by police and officers from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Three Nepalese expatriate workers were also arrested for allegedly producing and distributing alcohol in Gurayyat.
One of the three was accused of converting his sponsor’s farm in Gurayyat into a brewery, while the other two helped the man distribute alcohol among customers in and around the town.
Commission officials said the expatriates arrested in Jeddah were selling alcohol for SR50 per one-liter bottle. Officers also seized the materials and utensils used in production.
The commission, tipped off by suspicious neighbors, observed movements at the two houses for about a week before swooping.
The officers also observed two Asian women staying illegally with the expatriate workers in the two houses. A source at the commission told Arab News that the arrested expatriates would be transferred to court.
Alcohol is banned in the Kingdom.
