Alcohol dealers set fire to a house in Jarana, east of Makkah, recently in an attempt to destroy evidence of their illicit operation.

A citizen had earlier called the police when he spotted two men acting suspiciously and carrying tools into a yard of a deserted house in the district. The two men had fled when they saw the citizen, according to a recent report in a local publication.

A source said that when the police arrived they found no one on the premises. However, there was a foul smell and dense smoke coming from the yard. Civil Defense teams were called in to douse the fire.

When the police searched the premises they found 29 barrels of araq, which is liquor spiced with anize, 21 large sacks of sugar, 100 cartons of empty plastic bottles, a large bucket full of liquor and two distilling machines.

Lt. Col. Ati bin Atiyah Al-Qurashi, spokesman for Makkah police, said the police had received a report of a deserted house on fire in Jarana. He said the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) destroyed all the liquor and equipment. An investigation has been launched, said Al-Qurashi.