I was an "Alcohol Dealer" in a Islamic Country. AMA

When I was travelling in Morocco (Fez), I wanted some alcohol. A local brought me to this store that looked like a normal convenient store but at the back there was a hidden room. It was a room filled with liquor. During the 15 minutes that I was there, there were probably 30 other people that also bought alcohol. I was surprised by how many people were there and I guess it's basically a big "open secret" for the locals.

So, is it like that for most Islamic countries?

edit: DISREGARD EVERYTHING I SAID Me stupid. Me want punch self in face.

edit: Wtf, why were they being so discreet then?

edit: I guess I just assumed it's illegal since Muslims aren't supposed to drink alcohol.

edit: I bought some beers with some lovely people I met from my hostel. YES THEY TASTED JUST LIKE BEER AND WE GOT DRUNK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. They didn't troll me that bad.

edit: I also got hit on by a dude when I was in Marrakech. I was also very surprised since gay butt sex is illegal in Morocco. He said I have pretty eyes.

Yes, but not usually in Bakallas(the convenient store). I have met people who turned their extra bathroom into an entire distillery-Pretty fancy stuff too. Or you had people who just threw yeast and sugar in a grape juice box and left it in the closet for a few weeks.

• How did you deal it? Would you walk around with a bunch of alcohol or would you have buyers come to you?

• Where did you get the alcohol from?

• What was your closest encounter with the authorities?

• The buyers (and sometimes sellers) would come to me. Very rarely i would go out and transport it myself, in the few cases I would it'd be because I knew you very well.

• I would usually get it from my friend at the airport, or home-made. Sometimes I would sell stuff that a friend had left over from a home made batch of their own, or because they were leaving the country and needed to get rid of it.

-My closest and most idiot encounter was when I was in a car with a bunch of friends transporting alcohol to a party near-by and we started drinking in the car during traffic. Turns out there was a cop car next to us, they didn't stop us though, I'm guessing because we were drinking it from juice bottles. Other than that I was lucky, I would usually leave a party right before the cops came or my transporter has connections that got him out of jail.

Thanks for this AMA by the way, it is an interesting insight into a very foreign world. Do you think selling alcohol illegally is ethical? What do you think of dealers who sell other drugs? Are all drugs equal in your mind?

It's funny, you dont really think about ethics at all when over there. It's a very different place. Plus there isnt a Kuwaiti I met that did not have their own alcohol cabinet. Alcohol used to be legal there, but from what I heard it was a monopoly controlled by a member in the royal family. As soon as that person died, the family was fighting for control so the king I'm guessing banned it.

Now about drugs, I personally had sold Hash twice. My very good friend was a drug dealer.

Personally to me, if you aren't able to control how much you can handle or abuse, or if using these substances start to cause damage to you or your family physically, financially, mentally, or emotionally, you honestly shouldn't be using it. I never dealt to alcoholics(or i dont think I did) and I never dealt to hardcore drug addicts.

OP does not think of ethics.

OP is ethical.

I like you.

LOL I dont know how I'm supposed to react at being a contradiction.

I just at the time didnt think of how ethical it was for me "dealing". and the last paragraph was what I believe now, today.

Contradiction, yes. But I don't think it was done on purpose. Let me clarify.

You live in an area that rarely, if ever, considers the ethical side of things. Yet you however are ethical just by nature in saying that you wouldn't sell to a drug addict or alcoholic.

Draw whatever conclusions you want, but I think that makes you awesome.

aww thanks.

Say if you got caught selling booze along with your mate selling hash, which jail sentence or what punishment would be worse? Or would it be the same?

selling hash is worse.

I thought hashish was abundant in that part of the world...not true?

Lebanon, I can confirm it is.

there isnt a Kuwaiti I met that did not have their own alcohol cabinet.

Results of prohibition on things with high demand. Right there. Sums it right up.

How do you do that? the line blue thing?

A Danish friend of mine told me that, when traveling in the Middle East, he'd always take two bottles of whatever he was drinking. One for himself, one for Customs, and he never got hassled. You may well have ended up with a one or two of my friend's extra bottles...

Thats actually good advice.

Was the money good?

Yes, I could charge ridiculous amounts for "brand named" alcohol like Johnnie Walker black label and get away with it. And I would sell Black Label for about 100 - 150 KD which is basically $350-500 USD.

That is a huge mark up. But that's based on US retail prices. How much did it cost you? I imagine smuggling it in cost money.

Yeah, my buddy sold it to me for 400 USD a bottle- which basically covered his travel expenses.

Sorry its 400 USD for blue and 250 USD for black.

How did you get it in? How long did you do it for?

The good old suitcase. Or I had other people bring it in for me And I dealt for a little over a year.

Doesn't Kuwaiti customs xray bags coming into the country (as you pass immigration control)?

yes, but mouth wash bottles, soap bottles, sauce bottles are undetectable.

they did though suspect I had alcohol in my bag when it was actually Hot Sauce.

I'm a huge fan of Locked Up Abroad. The things these people get busted for are essentially illegal everywhere in the world, but you have a unique situation where you were smuggling a product that's legal in most places. So with that, what happens if you're caught in an airport with a bottle of Jack? I can't imagine they throw you in prison, right? EDIT: Sorry - I saw that you responded to this.

Oh god, I try not to. I would be locked up in prison or told to get on a plane out of there. They did tear apart my bags before because they thought the hot sauce I brought along was alcohol.

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Dumb contractors are my buyers btw.

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Exactly! Fortunately, I wasnt the worst theyve seen. I've heard stories where some people paid an arm for "real" alcohol.

to who? idiots? or was this years and years ago because the standard price has always been 40-60KD

Yes the western idiots who had no one else to go to.

What are the consequences, if one were caught dealing or drinking alcohol, there?

For someone like me (ie American) it would be deportation and a ban from entering the country. That's from what I heard, I never looked it up but I personally know the government is lax on Americans.

If you are a drug dealer though, the new law is death.

Any drug? I don't see why you get death for dealing weed, but slap on the wrist for alcohol? So arbitrary..

In reality it all depends on your nationality and the amount of wasta(connections) you have.

It might be in the law but the death sentence is almost never implemented. (if you're talking about Kuwait)

Yeah, it's just what I've always been told. I don't know if it has ever happened or not.

Which country?

The Islamic state of Kuwait.

"state of Kuwait" - this rhyme is quaint

Ha, I never realised that.

Would you consider a career of selling kinder surprise eggs in the USA?

LOL why not? I dont know the demand for it on my campus though.

Worse things that can happens is a 1K fine per egg... They just usually take them away from you though.

Seriously?

From a relative who used to work as a manager for an austrian juice company I heard that the Emirates are a big importer of untreated orange juice that is let to ferment during the shipping, thereby developping a couple of percent alcohol - while on paper only the juice is being imported. Can you verify that and what would after-sales channels of that product look like?

My neighbor basically had the same kind of job as your relative. He knew how to make great wine from the juices that was imported, and possibly the same thing happened.

I only go to the UAE for travel purposes not buying or selling alcohol. And usually if its made in a juice box/bottle, I would filter the gunk and put the drink in a different container. But this stuff sells for cheap, something like 17 USD to 50 USD.

Did you have to smuggle it in yourself, or were you part of a larger network with suppliers and such?

I sometimes smuggled it myself, but after awhile I had to get creative on what container I would store it in because the airport security started cracking down on people who were smuggling alcohol using "camel backs".

I did though had a connection in the airport, my friend's father worked there, so he would be able to get a couple of bottles every time he visited Bahrain.

How much of the alcohol going around was smuggled in and how much of it was homemade?

I would get at most 10-15 bottles a month smuggled in. Some months I'd get only 5 or none. Most of the alcohol I had contact with and sold was homemade. Homemade is so much easier to deal with, because it can be sold cheaper, its made cheaper, smuggling isnt an issue(transporting is), and you can put it in any container and no one will question the validity of the alcohol.

And by the last bit I mean, if I wanted to smuggle Jose Cuervo but I didnt want to risk getting caught so I put it in a Listerine bottle.. my buyer could accuse me of selling them fake or homemade alcohol, and not the original.

What was the reason for you living in Kuwait? And I'm assuming from your awesome nails that you are a woman, did you find that you were treated differently by locals in Kuwait? Also did you ever encounter a dealer who specialised in pork products? Bacon is simply too delicious to be apart from for so long.

Anyone with access to the US base basically sold pork products. As a girl

I was either treated extra nice(lead to the front of a long line) or constantly assaulted. Rape is common there and as a girl, I'd always had to watch out.

Did anyone ever attempt to rape you?

Yes.

Sorry to hear that, I've always thought that sexual repression was a spawning poll for sexual deviance, so it never surprised me to hear that countries like this have such problems as these.

It's fine, I'm not there now and I'm glad.

Can you elaborate? I live here and sexual harassment in certain places isn't uncommon. But it is usually just guys hitting on girls/being annoying. Never heard about it progress to something serious. Unless you were in a shady area, then I don't know.

I was actually walking on the beach going to marina waves for dinner and a large group of boys sitting on the boardwalk started attacking me and my friends.

In your opinion, did the banning of alchohol make cities a safer place at night time?

No it did not. There are lots of predators but I do not believe its because of alcohol, but rather what they are taught in schools, in their religion, or from what they see at home.

How hard is it to find alcohol in an Islamic country? In most places I've traveled to it hasn't been that hard to get weed despite not knowing anyone, is it the same with booze?

Depends who you meets and interact with. I have a lot of european friends and they made their own, in that course I made lebanese friends who introduced me to the arab community of drinkers.

What kind of alcohol?

The drinking kind.

Well, there's whiskey, vodka, rum, tequila, beer...

Usually whiskey, vodka and rum. Most people I know would make their own wine and beer(which was very delicious). Most times I would deal "Sadeekee" which is basically some drinkable version of rubbing alcohol and wine.

What are the methods used for getting alcohol into these countries?

Americans used to be able to get it from their embassy. I know most Brits can get it from their embassy. I also heard back in the day some a few companies actually had a storage unit of alcohol for their non-muslim employees. I've never heard of met anyone who successfully smuggled it from the US Base though.

You can no longer get alcohol from the American embassy? I know when I lived in Riyadh, this was a big source and diplomats were never dry.

Yeah there its a bit harder now. You need an "Invitation".

Ahhh. Thanks for the AMA! Glad you never got caught. I remember there being a few car bombings at Brits in Riyadh, and some people thought it was alcohol related.

No problem. and GOSH i hope no one was hurt.

What kind of volume are we talking about here? If your supplier was your buddy flying it in from another country, I imagine you were less of a dealer and more of an occasional opportunist.

First starting out, I was the opportuniste. In four months I was dealing and having people move around atleast 60 litres a week.

But that was homemade stuff.

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• I don't remember it all, but the most I had was 3,000 US dollars at one time.

• I stopped because I left Kuwait to go to University in America.

• I did it for a little over a year.

What percentage of adult males drink alcohol once in a while in Kuwait, by your estimation?

Just once in a while? I'm guessing maybe 75-80 percent. I do know people who dont drink at all, and I know a good number of people who would rather travel outside the country where its legal to go drink. And of course I know loads of people who go drinking every weekend.

It's very common for Kuwaitis to take a weekend trip to Bahrain to drink.

And Lebanon.

During Ramadan, did you notice a decline in sales? Did regulars stop buying from you during this time - or was it business as usual?

First half of Ramadan I'd leave the country, honestly it sucks being there during the daytime. Its hot and dry, and most shops are closed and wont open up until evening.

But as eid(spelling?) came near, my sales would be at its peak. Eid, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Year are my biggest sale times.

Over here in Dubai they are called bootleggers. It's somewhat legal to sell alcohol here, but there are many restricitions making it very hard to come buy unless you know a dealer.

My question; How much kd do you charge for a bottle of Blue Label?

I was told Dubai = alcohol Sharjah = no alcohol.

I've only sold Blue Label twice. Once 300 and the next 250. Which I was told pretty cheap of me.

Hey maybe I bought from you! Now that I've left Kuwait it's strange to think how normal it was to spend $300 a week on a bottle of whiskey without giving it a second thought. And smoking so much expensive hash because there was fuck all else to do.

Did you ever knowingly sell fake vodka or Johnnie Walker?

No, because most of the time I sold it to the person I'd be there drinking it too. But I usually smell check it if the cap has been opened, and if I end up selling it in a different bottle I lower the price.

Have you ever seen the episode of Locked Up Abroad about the Scottish cook who gets busted importing large amounts of whiskey? I think he ended up in religious jail or something. What would happen if you got caught? Is the money worth the risk?

I do not think I'd go to jail, but I would definitely be deported. And I for me dealing wasn't really for the money, it was great I had loads of cash which I quickly would burn through, but if I ever needed to stop. I could.. I think.

Has this changed your perception of drug dealers?

Not really, I never had an opinion or perception on who drug dealers were. And the only "drug" I use is alcohol.

Not sure why you put drug in quotes. Alcohol is definitely a drug.

Just incase someone didnt think it was or did.

Are other illegal drugs common in kuwait and would the charge for dealing those be worse than alcohol?

I was told mushrooms is the big no no. Honestly I wouldn't know the exact charges for every drug out there, I tried to stay away from that crowd.

You ever cut vodka with water?

Nope, like I said I usually deal to people I do know, or I stick around for the party to drink it too.

Do you want to go back to Kuwait?

What other countries do you want to visit?

Did you views on Islam change at all because of your time spent there?

• In the future maybe.

• I'd like to visit Russia?

• Not on Islam but on the followers.

I really enjoyed Russia when I visited. If you get a chance you should go. Did you view of the followers change for the better or worse?

A bit of both.

What is one type of booze you could never get for your clients?

Cognac.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the Quran only prohibited only Wine from being consumed. So why is all alcohol banned?

I am not muslim.

And it is illegal by law there to transport, and deal alcohol. Ive had friends who were at parties with alcohol, they were caught by the cops and deported. My muslim friends say all alcohol is prohibited, but they also say its a very unsure subject too.

But honestly if only wine was banned, then the super markets there would sell other alcoholic drinks right? But they dont, they sell non-alcoholic beer and other goodies.