FriendlyExpat

So I suspect I know the answer already but I'm still going to ask.

By way of background to my question, I know of people who know people who regularly traverse the Saudi-Bahrain causeway and back with large quantities of illicit meat products disguised as chicken, beef, camel or whatever seems most plausible that week.

But my question is this - do people also carry illicit meat products in through Saudi airports? Personally I've never once been stopped or checked going through Saudi airport customs, but I've also never carried illict meat products. I assume the X-ray machines don't show up meat, provided you avoid bones? Unless they have a special meat sniffing device or something? Is it better to stuff the stuff in your pockets (thereby avoiding the scanners) or just put it in your bag and hope that the scanning man is asleep as usual?

Also what is the punishment for being caught with illict meat products?

As I said above, I suspect the answer is it's not worth the risk of losing a job merely for the sake of a bit of illicit meat, etc etc. But I do miss the illicit meat! And you can't just grow an illicit meat animal in your airing cupboard (unlike certain other illicit liquid substances popular with the expat crowd).

NB "illicit meat product" is code...no prizes for decoding!

nonthaburi

Last time I flew in I had some meat, but it was in packaging in Thai language so without cooking it it wasn't going to be obvious what it was. My wife has done the same. Most likely they will just take it off you if you get stopped. It's not like booze. A guy I know was stopped coming back from Bahrain when with a big group and they just pulled it all out and let them carry on with their journey. However, it does only take that one time when you get the wrong person.......The choice is yours.

nottmbantam

I know someone who when traveling back from the UK, would strap the illicit meat products to her person and sneak them in that way. No personal scanners at Riyadh airport, only the bags get checked.

But, I always find myslef asking the same question - is it really worth it?

DubInRiyadh

as I tucked into my Cumberland sausages fried eggs and buttered toast last night, I asked myself the same question....

miuser2

I heard a story of someone who regularly brought "meat" from Bahrain across the causeway and one time was stopped and subsequently deported as a result. As with most dealings with officialdom in the Magic Kingdom I expect it mostly depends on the attitude of whoever catches you. Personally I wouldn't risk it, especially at an airport.

Ahmed Hassan

it will be shown in the x-ray and it will be confiscated

there is one in riyadh near Oruba st

bodieanddoyle

I got through Jeddah (from Prague) with 'meat' in my suitcase. The suitcases are x-rayed at Jeddah as you leave arrivals. But the likelihood of a single female being stopped isn't that great. And the airport 'official' on the x ray stand was probably asleep/on his phone/reading the Koran at the time and wasn't looking.

northbadawi

I wonder how x-ray can know what kind of meat it was before it was processed into salami.

Debowing

Generally I would imagine that they would confiscate any meat products that are not 'halal'. This means not only free from pork, but also prepared according to the halal rites. There are a lot of things that can affect the halal status of a food item, and some are not immediately obvious. Generally halal items are marked as such. But as advised it is not wise to attempt this at KSA. I was in Libya and many people were routinely bringing pork into Libya, until one of our coworkers was caught with 5-6 kg of pork and not only lost his visa, he spent 3 nights in jail in post-revolutionary Libya (Tripoli), which is not really nice. I was travelling with him too and the flight got delayed due to a sand storm and we were stranded for 8 hours at Malta. My friend was concerned that the pork would thaw.

In the case of KSA, I think that the most they would do is confiscate, but why test them?

Gobobo

I thought, long and hard, about bringing in pork or pork products with me. I appreciate the feeling of satisfaction when I make a decent fry up.

Instead, I totally OD'd on pork when outside and, by the time I came back, I was a little sick of it. I had fully cooked breakfasts every day for almost six weeks, chose the pork option when eating out, and dipped into a Tesco's for a pork pie on the odd occasion. Now, I don't miss it at all and am thinking of going veggie for a bit!