RIYADH: Batha customs officers foiled two attempts to smuggle 35,880 bottles of wine to the Kingdom, according to Customs Director General Abdulrahman Al-Muhanna.
In the first attempt, he said, the customs officers inspected a truck loaded with spaghetti and vermicelli, a traditional type of pasta.
But, “in the course of ending the usual customs procedures, the inspectors found 16,980 bottles of wine in boxes covered by the spaghetti and vermicelli,” he said.
The customs inspectors also found bottles of wine in boxes loaded in another truck, again covered with eatable material, in a second attempt of such an illegal transportation.
“Beneath the spaghetti and vermicelli were boxes containing 18,900 bottles of wine. It appears that the first and second shipments belonged to only one person,” he said.
He added that in both instances, the suspects claimed that they were merely asked to deliver the shipments to a certain person in the Kingdom.
He noted that smugglers have used different stratagems in smuggling prohibited things in the Kingdom such as drugs, wine, among others.
“Recently, customs officers also thwarted an attempt to smuggle 14 kilograms of jewelry that included precious stones, such as diamonds, pearls and gold,” he said.
He said that the jewelry was found hidden in one of the vehicles coming to the Kingdom via the port.
“The suspects presented a package which customs officers thought as ordinary and nothing irregular about it. But on following the usual customs procedures, the inspectors found 1,031 pieces of jewelry and gems,” Al Muhanna said.
He said the jewels weighed a total of 14.37 kilograms: The gold set weighing 9.92 kg, the diamonds 2.88 kg and the pearls 1.57 kg.
The jewelry, found in the rear seats of the vehicle, were seized and the suspects arrested.
In the first attempt, he said, the customs officers inspected a truck loaded with spaghetti and vermicelli, a traditional type of pasta.
But, “in the course of ending the usual customs procedures, the inspectors found 16,980 bottles of wine in boxes covered by the spaghetti and vermicelli,” he said.
The customs inspectors also found bottles of wine in boxes loaded in another truck, again covered with eatable material, in a second attempt of such an illegal transportation.
“Beneath the spaghetti and vermicelli were boxes containing 18,900 bottles of wine. It appears that the first and second shipments belonged to only one person,” he said.
He added that in both instances, the suspects claimed that they were merely asked to deliver the shipments to a certain person in the Kingdom.
He noted that smugglers have used different stratagems in smuggling prohibited things in the Kingdom such as drugs, wine, among others.
“Recently, customs officers also thwarted an attempt to smuggle 14 kilograms of jewelry that included precious stones, such as diamonds, pearls and gold,” he said.
He said that the jewelry was found hidden in one of the vehicles coming to the Kingdom via the port.
“The suspects presented a package which customs officers thought as ordinary and nothing irregular about it. But on following the usual customs procedures, the inspectors found 1,031 pieces of jewelry and gems,” Al Muhanna said.
He said the jewels weighed a total of 14.37 kilograms: The gold set weighing 9.92 kg, the diamonds 2.88 kg and the pearls 1.57 kg.
The jewelry, found in the rear seats of the vehicle, were seized and the suspects arrested.
