Large quantity of liquor seized, 21 Asians arrested

Manama : The authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of liquor into the Kingdom, Director-General of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science said on Monday. A gang of 21 people from various Asian countries were arrested during the operation, the Director-General said. The smugglers used a sand carrier vessel to load the bottles from a boat in the deep sea, offloaded them with help from their accomplices in the area reserved for the company at the port. The liquor was then transferred to warehouses and from there either sold locally at lower prices than the market value or smuggled abroad.

The police seized liquor worth more than BD200,000, and more than 36,000 dinars in cash. They also confiscated the vehicles used to transfer the smuggled items.

The director general said that legal proceedings were being taken to refer the case to the public prosecution.