not quite bootleggers...

While I was spending long hours at work, some sneaky people, (unnamed to protect their visa status, but probably easy to figure out for readers of this blog) visited a liquor store.
Since both of them lack the needed papers to purchase alcohol, and it is highly illegal to have it anywhere in your possession without a permit, this meant some sneakiness was required. There are some funny idiosyncrasies in the alcohol laws here. As was explained in a post a long time ago, it is legal for non-Muslims to buy and consume alcohol, but some caveats apply. The buyer is must have a permit for all alcohol served outside of hotels, where all the bars are located as there are no neighborhood pubs here. All alcohol purchases are heavily taxed, something like 18%. The stores where you get the alcohol are supposed to write your license information down and subtract the amount you bought from a preset limit for the month. This means that if you try to buy more than the limit, you must wait until the next month, and there is a $ limit for the year. You must also pay the really high tax and that tax applies against your limit. Assuming you make it through all these hurdles, it is illegal to transport it. Pretty much, you can buy it but then once you step out of the door, you are an illegal. It is always and VERY illegal to transport it in an auto, or anything else with wheels. Having any alcohol in a car is the same as drinking and driving, which means going to prison, and once you get out, deported.
Of course, the our heroes are smart, and brought along a wheelie bag to clunk everything around in. But, wait! they are even smarter than that! Why pay all the tax and deal with a limit on what you can buy when you can just go to a store that is ok with selling it illegally? If the legal issues are going to be just as much of a hassle and it cost so much more...
That is what makes this story so great. A heroic amount of alcohol, for a low low price of around 100$USD (thats 367Dhs for non-US readers)

The final tally:
3 bottles of wine
2 bottles of delicious Skyy Vodka (no cheap Royal Czar for us)
a bottle of Rum
and a 6 pack of Guinness!

And all this for the low low price of around 100USD (367Dhs)
Its going to be a great night! Thursday night is the beginning of the weekend for us here in the UAE, too bad for all you suckers who are working on Friday. You may feel free to leave some comments teasing us about having to work on Sunday!