In a major bust, the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Asir seized about six tons of alcohol hidden in the region's forests. The Commission chased liquor peddlers into their hard to reach hideouts in the forests and mountainous areas in the region where they seized alcohol. The Asir Police Department also busted an alcohol distillery where they had recovered seven 3-liter barrels of locally distilled alcohol. The peddlers were believed to have fled. All seized alcohol was destroyed. Asir region has become recently a safe haven for alcohol makers, prompting the authorities to launch an intensive campaign to destroy distilleries in the region. Foreign alcohol makers have been found brewing alcohol with sewage-contaminated water. Earlier, the Commission seized 50 barrels of locally distilled alcohol, with 250 liters of alcohol in each, in the industrial city in Abha bound for the illegal market. The barrels were hidden in a trench in an abandoned farm near the village of Al-Salm. It was considered the largest alcohol bust in the history of Asir region. – Okaz __
