CUSTOMS OFFICIALS IN Saudi Arabia say they’ve cracked a case — and then some — of smugglers trying to bring illicit cans of beer through the kingdom by disguising them as Pepsi.

In a statement, customs officials say they intercepted 48,000 cans of beer moving through the al-Batha border crossing with the United Arab Emirates.

In a video posted on Twitter, the customs officials show an officer using a box cutter to open a wrapped 24-pack of the fake Pepsi, only to find green-and-white Heineken cans beneath it.

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The Al-Arabiya news network quoted an official as saying:

A truck carrying what first seemed to be normal cans of the soft drink Pepsi was stopped and 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.

Contains reporting by the Associated Press.

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