A Saudi man and his Asian farmhand were arrested for distilling alcohol at the citizen's farmhouse in Hail on Sunday.

Col. Abdul Aziz Al-Zenaidi, spokesman for Hail police, said police detectives carried out extensive investigations to establish that the Saudi, in his late 40s, had actually converted his farmhouse into a crude distillery in a town close to Hail city.

“The police party under the command of Hail police director Maj. Gen. Yahya Al-Biladi raided the farmhouse and arrested the liquor manufacturer and his accomplice. They also seized the raw material and apparatus used for the manufacture of the contraband,” Al-Zenaidi told Arab News.

The confiscated articles include 122 large barrels of fermented liquor awaiting distillation, six large vessels and tubes that constitute the distillery, 36 50-kg bags of sugar, 68 bags of yeast, plastic bottles for supplying the hooch to customers and a large tank to cool the distillery tubes, he said.

Police are investigating the case. The liquor has been destroyed, he said.