Illegal booze sale on the rise

Sale of illegal alcohol has become a lucrative business; while many operate in 'gangs' selling illicit alcohol others work as 'freelancers' to sell the intoxicant illegally.

Alcohol is discouraged or even banned in certain regions in the GCC. In Bahrain, although there are legal channels for customers to buy, its sale is generally restricted to a limited number of authorized outlets. Few outlets sell in retail prices while bars are pricier alternatives.

"The outlets that sell alcohol retail close quite early, they close at around 9. So unless the customer goes in early, they cannot buy from there. Many drink later in the night and may not be able to make it there before 9 to buy what they need. This is when they seek the illegal sources." a source said. When contacted, retail outlets confirmed that they close by 9:00pm.

"These freelancers capitalize on the fact that buying from bars is more expensive. If the bar sells beer for a dinar or BD 1.5, these illegal sellers sell for BD 1 or BD 0.750." the source added.

A buyer, who preferred to buy from these illegal sources, said that convenience is why he chose to buy from them. "It is easy for me because they even deliver to my home." the buyer, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

DT News first contacted a Bahraini seller who goes by the BuAhmed, who has been in the business for over 10 years. He was quickly taken aback when he was spoken to in English while requesting a transaction as he is usually only approached by Arab nationals mostly from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. "How did you get my number" he asked, and upon hearing the response, he politely requested us to call back after 10 minutes; however he did not pick up when he was called later. According to one of his customers, he comes to Hoora to sell but he lives in Budaiyya. "He sells in Budaiyya where he lives; he also sells in Hoora where he comes just to sell. He sells to locals, and Arab nationals. Expats are too afraid to buy from Bahrainis because they worry that they might be CIDs. So generally Arabs buy from Bahrainis and expats buy from expats. On the other hand Bahraini sellers are afraid of expats believing that they might be undercover" the customer said.

Rajesh, who used be a black-cab driver and now works as a driver at a company, was contacted by DT News in guise of a customer. He sells alcohol after work hours and describes it as a part time job, selling it in and around Um Al Hassam and Manama "I have been doing this for about 5 years now. I used to drive illegal taxis and that was when I started selling alcohol. After two years of that i got a job at a company and stopped selling. But then i received many requests from customers so i started again “he said.

"I sell mainly in this area and Manama, i do not deliver anywhere far such as Muharraq or Sitra because it’s not worth the petrol expenses." he said. "I sell Brandy, whisky and beer. The smaller bottles are sold for 3.5 bd and the big ones for 7.5." he added. He handed over a bottle wrapped in old newspapers and a plastic bag, "Make sure to hide it in the car, so that the police do not spot it in case you get pulled over." he said.