While liquor is available in Qatar – although tightly regulated – it is definitely not legal to produce it in your home. Three residents of Qatar are confronting that reality the hard way and now face criminal chargers after police raided their dwelling, finding more than 11,000 liters of bootlegged liquor.
Panicking during a routine traffic stop, one of the individuals fled in his vehicle but was later apprehended. When the officers searched the vehicle, they found some 350 1.5 liter bottles filled with the illegally distilled liquor.
After interrogation, the detained man confessed to operating an illegal distillery out of his home with two other Qatar residents. The home was then raided by the police where they found 1,220 water bottles and 55 barrels with a capacity of 200 liters each. Both the bottles and the barrels were full of liquor.
Equipment for distillation and raw materials used in the bootlegging process were also confiscated in the raid. While the names and nationalities of the individuals were not disclosed, the police said that all three confessed to selling the liquor and had been referred to the public prosecutor for formal charges.
Qatar only allows alcohol to be sold at designated hotels as well as Qatar's sole liquor store, the Qatar Distribution Co. Residents are required to obtain a license, earn a minimum monthly salary and receive permission from their employer to purchase alcohol.
Many blue collar workers are thus unable to legally obtain liquor, forcing them to turn to illegal producers or to brew their own alcohol. One particular bootlegged liquor called "sadeeqi" has been blamed for causing short-term memory loss, sporadic stomach pain, bleeding during defecation and impaired vision. Researchers from the World Health Organization estimated that more than one-third of alcohol consumed in Qatar comes from underground sources.
All Gulf nations have regulations on alcohol, with lawmakers in Bahrain and Oman both proposing bans on it last year. The only Gulf countries to have a complete ban on alcohol are Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, although according to Gulf News, bootlegging in these countries still makes liquor widely available.