RIYADH, 5 January 2008 — The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Riyadh busted a house in Aulaisha neighborhood in the middle of Riyadh that was reportedly being used to distill liquor.
The Commission teamed up with police during this bust and seized more than 31 large containers of liquor that was ready for distribution, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported.
The head of the Commission’s branch in Al-Naseriya neighborhood, Omar Al-Saadoun, said that Commission members spotted suspicious activities in a public place. When they moved in to question the suspects, two people confessed that they were in the area selling liquor, which they got from a house in the area. Immediately the Commission coordinated with the local police and busted the house and arrested four foreigners of Asian origin.
“The Commission managed to bust five liquor factories in less than a month,” he said.
Al-Saadoun urged the public to report any suspicious activities to the authorities. He said tip-offs from the public were always helpful and as a result they were able to eradicate crimes and arrest law violators in many cases. People in the neighborhood were shocked when they learned that there had been a liquor factory next door. A resident in the area said he had never suspected that such criminal activity was going on in that house.
