From camels to car crevices: Saudi Arabia captures not-so-cunning customs evaders
Customs officials in Saudi Arabia have been tweeting some of the various illegal items people have attempted to smuggle into the kingdom in bizarre ‒ and surely, uncomfortable ‒ ways.
One of the most popular items uncovered by officials is alcohol ‒ which is completely banned in Saudi Arabia ‒ with some smugglers being a little more subtle than others in how they hide their liquor.
You certainly couldn’t describe this woman’s efforts as being in any way 'subtle': She simply shoved five bottles into her pockets. Even customs officials seemed disappointed at her lack of ingenuity, describing it as a "miserable attempt" at smuggling.
جمرك مطار الملك عبد العزيز الدولي يُحبط محاولة سيدة آسيوية تهريب زجاجات خمر
https://t.co/tCoOG8yjJEpic.twitter.com/5ZxqE4ZyXy
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) November 8, 2015
She’s not the only one to try and hide alcohol on their body: this man strapped his secret stash of whiskey around his legs.
Others have hidden bottles in the crevices of their car in the hope that the normal-looking exterior is enough to mask what lies beneath ‒ such as 380 bottles of whiskey.
جمرك جسر الملك فهد يُحبط 3 محاولات لتهريب 380 زجاجة خمر
http://t.co/uut3EHUDFHpic.twitter.com/T8sQmUhMit
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) July 7, 2015
One drug that is frequently uncovered by Saudi officials is the amphetamine Captagon, which is understood to be widely used by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants, allowing them to fight for days with little rest.
Saudi prince arrested on private plane with 2 tons of drugs - reports https://t.co/R3MIDmz74Xpic.twitter.com/7lifnVZXcR
— RT (@RT_com) October 26, 2015
In the first six days of January alone, almost 535,000 Captagon pills were found during a number of different searches by Saudi customs officers: 414,000 pills were found in truck tires; 100,000 were concealed in wooden pallets; and another 10,000 were found in the lining of a man’s underwear.
جمرك ميناء ضباء يُحبط محاولة تهريب 414 ألف حبة كبتاجون، مُخبأة في تجويف إطارات إحدى الشاحنات
https://t.co/UPuCVnYJf4pic.twitter.com/BP2vp0FF8u
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) January 6, 2016
جمرك الحديثة ينجح في إحباط محاولة لتهريب أكثر من 950 ألف حبة كبتاجون المخدّرة
https://t.co/U0G1T4HzwWpic.twitter.com/2xe4V9aKvt
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) January 2, 2016
Officials along the King Fahd Causeway between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain this month discovered people smugglers attempting to traffic a woman by covering her in a blanket in the backseat of a car.
جمرك جسر الملك فهد يحبط محاولة تهريب "فتاة" أجنبية
https://t.co/IcDAYaeORhpic.twitter.com/Scs2NF7dLf
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) January 12, 2016
In September 2015, 2,470 "pet birds" of various breeds, shapes and sizes were discovered hidden in the floor of four cars that were travelling along the King Fahd Causeway.
جمرك جسر الملك فهد يُحبط تهريب أكثر من 2.470 "طير زينة"
http://t.co/x0IW60cH7Wpic.twitter.com/liCQMrADWG
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) September 6, 2015
Attempting to sneak 48,000 cans of Heineken into the country, one smuggler wrapped each can in the Pepsi logo. Unfortunately for him, this tactic didn’t really work.
ملصقات "مشروب بيبسي" على 48 ألف علبة بيرة بالكحول كشف محاولة تهريبها جمرك البطحاء
https://t.co/BwpTaeQs1npic.twitter.com/gpf9p7ZK1Z
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) November 11, 2015
Smugglers have even used camels to try and get their contraband into the country, with Saudi officials discovering a camel with 115,000 narcotic pills on its back in June 2015.
حبوب مخدرة على ظهر "جمل"
http://t.co/tkWOVMlV5npic.twitter.com/gvnB87iXCT
— الجمارك السعودية (@KsaCustoms) June 23, 2015