JEDDAH/Al-BAT'HAA — The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) stated that it had thwarted 3 attempts to smuggle a huge and varied amount of liquor, amounting to (66,312) bottles at Jeddah Islamic Port and Al-Bat'haa border crossing. The authority confirmed that 8 people who received these quantities of bottled liquor had been arrested. In the first smuggling attempt, (25,380) bottles of liquor were found hidden disguised as orange juice consignment that was loaded in a truck crossing through Al-Bat'haa border crossing. In the second smuggling bid, 16,800 bottles of liquor were found being ferried across the Al-Bat'haa border crossing, hidden in a drinking water bottles consignment. The third attempt was thwarted in Jeddah Islamic Port where 24,132) bottles of liquor were caught after an attempt to hide them within a consignment of "Filter machines" was detected. The authority confirmed on doing its utmost to prevent and thwart any smuggling attempt, stressing that it continues to confiscate and tighten customs control over all imports and continues to combat smuggling in all its forms. The ZATCA called on everyone to communicate with it to report any information related to smuggling crimes through the Security Reports Center (1910), as the center receives security reports in complete secrecy, with a financial reward given to those who report if the reporting information is correct.
