Saudi officials seize cans of beer veiled as Pepsi

Some smugglers have been caught attempting to enter Saudi Arabia with thousands of beer cans disguised as Pepsi, The Telegraph is reporting.

According to the newspaper, customs officials in the middleeastern country intercepted the shady operation at the al-Batha border crossing with the United Arab Emirates.

An estimated 48,000 cans of beer had been disguised with Pepsi branding, with customs officials peeling back the fake wrapping to uncover the Heineken and later posting the photos on Twitter.

Officials also posted a video on an official account showing them cutting open a 24-pack of the fake Pepsi cans to reveal what was hidden underneath.

Border general manager Abdulrahman al-Mahna, said his officers were “always ready and alert” to smugglers’ increasingly imaginative attempts to bring contraband across the border.

“A truck carrying what first seemed to be normal cans of the soft drink Pepsi was stopped,” he was quoted to have said.

“After the standard process of searching the products, it became clear that the alcoholic beers were covered with Pepsi’s sticker logos.”

Drinking or possessing alcohol is a criminal offence in the ultra-conservative Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia.