JEDDAH: Police in Jeddah arrested four persons on Tuesday during a raid on a site used to produce alcohol. Officers had earlier in the day observed a person of African origin acting suspiciously in a central district of the city, and when he noticed the police presence he abandoned the plastic bag he was carrying and attempted to flee. Officers managed to detain the man, however, who then revealed under questioning that he was part of a four-man gang that produced the locally brewed alcoholic beverage ‘araq. With extra officers called in to contain the area, police entered the site of production identified by the suspect and found large numbers of containers along with brewing and distilling equipment. Other containers served to gather production waste, with disposal pipes connected up to the sewer system to prevent the spread of odors.
