Civil Defense officials and police had to evacuate a wedding hall in the early hours of Thursday morning after an unknown liquid was thrown on the bride of the occasion by four invitees. The bride herself was unhurt, but one 25-year-old lady suffered a minor injury to the eye. A Civil Defense spokesman said that four women aged 15, 16, 24 and 40 were responsible for the “attempted act of aggression”. – Okaz/SG 5,000 bottles of booze By Zuheir Al-Ghazal AL-AHSA – Customs authorities seized over 5,000 bottles of alcohol from a single smuggler at Al-Batha port Thursday. An official said that “sharp-eyed” officers uncovered an innovative attempt to hide the illicit cargo, without giving further details. – Okaz/SG Street-seller sweep in capital By Faris Al-Qahtani RIYADH – Authorities arrested 320 ambulant salesmen in streets and markets of Riyadh on Thursday as part of clean-up campaigns to rid public places of persons working in violation of residence and labor laws. Some of the arrested were charged for breaches of health and safety regulations and others for operating without licenses. – Okaz/SG Diluting petrol station closed By Iftikhar Bahafeen JIZAN – A gas station whose staff were found to have accidentally diluted petrol with diesel fuel has been closed down by police in the Abu Ureish region of Jizan. The source of the diluted fuel was identified after customers informed police of vehicles suffering breakdowns after refueling at the station. “During investigations the employees at the station admitted to mixing the petrol with diesel by mistake,” a police official said. “The owner of the station has been instructed to rectify the problem.” – Okaz/SG Dawn raid uncovers brothel By Ahmed Al-Zayedi MADINA – A police raid on an apartment in the Al-Seeh district of Madina in the early hours of Thursday morning led to the arrest of an Ethiopian woman and four other females and four males for engaging in acts of prostitution. Officers found at the apartment two contracts for “misyar” marriage in the name of Saudi males, and three albums of photographs displaying women of various nationalities. The same day officials rounded up 63 persons in violation of residency and labor laws in the areas of Al-Seeh, Al-Gharbiya and Al-Atn. – Okaz/SG Magic tailor shop busted By Ibrahim Alawi JEDDAH – Police have uncovered a sewing workshop run by a Yemeni man with seven Indonesian women as staff which officials described as a “center of black magic activity”. The apartment in the historic Al-Balad district was identified as a site of “suspicious comings and goings” and put under surveillance for several days before officers conducted a raid on Wednesday in which they detained seven women and one Yemeni to whom they had no legal relation. – Okaz/SG Speedy pedestrian recoups stolen bag By Ibrahim Alawi JEDDAH – An observant pedestrian helped police arrest an 18-year-old male who stole a bag from a Yemeni resident containing 21,000 riyals on Tuesday. As the youth grabbed the bag and fled down the street a bystander immediately set off in fleet-footed pursuit, managing to catch up with the thief and return the bag to its grateful owner. The thief was restrained until police arrived. Officers say they are investigating the 18-year-old's connection to a series of similar incidents.
