Smugglers attempt to Smuggle beer in a Pepsi camoflag to Saudi Arabia failed

Imaginative smugglers have been caught attempting to enter Saudi Arabia with thousands of beer cans disguised as Pepsi.

Customs officials in the Middle Eastern country intercepted the shady operation at the al-Batha border crossing with the United Arab Emirates.

An estimated 48,000 cans of beer had been disguised with Pepsi branding, with customs officials peeling back the fake wrapping to uncover the Heineken and later posting the photos on Twitter.

Officials also posted a video on an official account showing them cutting open a 24-pack of the fake Pepsi cans to reveal what was hidden underneath.

Border general manager Abdulrahman al-Mahna said his officers "are always ready and alert" to smugglers’ increasingly imaginative attempts to bring contraband across the border.

"A truck carrying what first seemed to be normal cans of the soft drink Pepsi was stopped," he said.

"After the standard process of searching the products, it became clear that the alcoholic beers were covered with Pepsi's sticker logos."

Beer disguised as Pepsi   Photo: Ksa Customs / Twitter

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

However, Saudi Arabia recently revealed a 'manifesto for change' in the face of rumours of coup plots.

That's a lot of beer   Photo: Ksa Customs / Twitter

Earlier this year, a passenger flying to the Middle East was caught with£500,000 cash hidden in his suitcase.

The 48-year-old from Yemen, who was boarding a plane to Qatar, told authorities the money was for his “really big family”.

Customs officials at JFK Airport in New York uncovered wads of crisp notes hidden in trainers, food packets and other health products.