EU compound accused of Afghan alcohol smuggling

The EU is investigating claims that residents in its compound in Kabul used disused fridges and gas canisters to smuggle illegal alcohol into Afghanistan.

As first reported by The Guardian, leaked Facebook and WhatsApp messages sent to EU investigators appear to show that beer, wine and spirits which were bought for the consumption of EU officials were instead sold to local Kabul residents.

Drinks brands which include Smirnoff, Jack Daniel’s, Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal and Heineken were alleged to have been smuggled out of the compound in ‘broken’ fridges and gas canisters for sale on the black market in Kabul. The possession and consumption of alcohol is illegal in Afghanistan, although licenses are granted to establishments for the sale of alcohol to foreigners.

The EU is among those powers given special dispensation to import alcohol into the country for the consumption of its delegates.

The compound in question is situated in the Shahr-e-Naw area in north-west Kabul. It is thought up to 40 European expats and 70 locals have worked in the office building and adjoining restaurant called Tawoos.

The claims first came to light in August when a senior manager challenged restaurant workers supposedly transporting a broken fridge out of the compound.

Describing events to the EU special representative for Afghanistan, Franz-Michael Mellbin, the senior manager wrote: “I was having dinner with [a colleague] when I saw that Tawoos employees were trying to move out of the compound a big fridge.”

“I asked them why and they said the fridge was broken. A few minutes after, I went to the car and instructed them to open the fridge. I insisted, but they didn’t want to open it. But after having called additional security … they opened the fridge, which was full of alcohol. I took pictures. Please advise”.

It is also claimed that 1.5-metre (5ft) gas canisters were used to transport the alcohol into the city.

EU investigators are now trying to establish whether residents of the EU compound were smuggling the alcohol into Kabul as part of an illegal bootlegging operation.

According to The Guardian, the EU delegation in Kabul spent $509,948 (£386,000) with alcohol suppliers MENA Supplies LLC over 20 months to December 2016.

As part of the documentation, a bill dating to January and marked with the words ‘European Union delegation Afghanistan’, shows that in a single order, delegates spend $21,035 on alcohol including $2,928 on 120 bottles of Chivas Regal, $1,890 on 60 bottles of Johnnie Walker Double Black and $625.50 on 720 cans of Heineken.

The leaked Facebook and WhatsApp messages, now being investigated by EU officials in Brussels, allegedly show orders taken from local businessmen.

On the 25 April 2016, a local businessman is said to have ordered “2 red wine box [sic], 1 white wine, 1 rosé, 2 gin [sic], 2 glenfedich (red) [sic] 6 black label, 3 Smirnoff, 3 absolute [sic], 6 Corona, 3 jack Daniel [sic], 4 Heineken, 2 dhalwinie [sic] and 3 Jamieson [sic].”

It was also revealed to the newspaper that in another order, a price list sent to a suspected drinks smuggler listed a bottle of Chivas Regal (which cost the EU $24.40 to buy from the supplier) was sold on for $50, while a bottle of vodka bought for $9.65, was sold on for $60.

An EU spokeswoman told The Guardian that the European External Action Service (EEAS,) the European commission and the EU delegation in Kabul were first alerted to the allegations at the end of August and immediately informed the European anti-fraud office (Olaf), which is assessing whether to launch a formal investigation.

“The EEAS and the European commission take any allegations of wrongdoing extremely seriously. Olaf assesses incoming information of potential investigative interest according to standard procedures. It is only after such an initial assessment that Olaf decides whether or not to open an investigation.”

“The EEAS and the European commission recall that the presumption of innocence applies. The EEAS and the European commission are not aware of other suspected alcohol-smuggling operations or other allegations with regard to alcohol smuggling that would involve other EU premises,” she said.

Earlier this month, a North Korean diplomat in Pakistan was suspected of being part of an illegal bootlegging operation after he reported that a large quantity of alcohol had been stolen from his residence, including over 1,000 bottles of Scotch.