Saudi Arabia cracks case of smuggled beer

Saudi customs officials have cracked a case of beer smuggling where the amber brew was disguised as Pepsi.

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 video posted on Wednesday 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 the green-and-white Heineken cans beneath it.

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