Saudi foils smuggling attempts from Bahrain

Manama : Saudi Customs on King Fahd Causeway have foiled several attempts to smuggle more than 260 bottles of liquor from Bahrain in the past two weeks.

According to Saudi media, smugglers intensified their operations to smuggle alcoholic beverages, drugs, live birds, which are illegal to import in Saudi Arabia, and other banned products in the neighbouring Kingdom through the causeway during the recent Eid Al Adha holidays. 

Saudi daily Al Jazirah reported that “135 smuggling attempts from the Kingdom of Bahrain through King Fahd Causeway were foiled between September 8 and 19”.

Quoting King Fahd Causeway Saudi Customs General Director Dhaifallah Al Otaiby, the report mentioned, “Customs officials seized 185 liquor bottles, 462 kg of banned animal steroids, 360 live birds, 9kg of swine meat and 22.21gm of Hashish.” Al Otaibi also revealed that “travelling fees collected on both sides (entry and exit) of the Saudi border on King Fahd Causeway were SR872,335,918 (around BD 87,773,365), collected from 358, 154 vehicles during the mentioned period”.

Liquor bottles seized

A total of 87 liquor bottles were confiscated from two vehicles crossing the causeway, coming from Bahrain recently. Around 5,098 branded liquor bottles’ caps and stickers were also seized in the same operation. Some journals in Saudi suggested that “they were intended to be used in bottling home-grown liquor”.

“The bottles, caps and stickers were stashed in special compartments that were installed in different parts of the vehicles, including the rear bumpers, gas tanks and inside the doors. Legal procedures were undertaken,” Al Otaibi informed.