Saudis 'bingeing on drink, drugs and sex at wild parties as police turn blind eye'

A British expat says young people in the country use apps like Tinder to source prostitutes, cannabis, black market abortion pills and 99 per cent proof moonshine.

Saudi youths performing risky stunts in their cars (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia has been accused of hypocrisy after a British expat revealed young people in the country drink, take drugs and participate in wild sex parties as police turn a blind eye.

The claims come days after Saudi authorities sentenced British grandfather Karl Andree to 350 lashes for being caught with 12 bottles of homemade wine.

The unnamed insider told the Sunday Mirror that Saudis from elite circles flout the country’s strict interpretation of Islamic law using apps like Tinder to source prostitutes, cannabis, black market abortion pills and 99 per cent proof moonshine.

“Saudi Arabia prides itself with presenting its hard-line and devoutly religious face to the world, but beneath the surface everything is available at the right price and people turn a blind eye in one of the world’s richest countries where money is never an issue," he said.

“Potent 99 per cent proof booze is distilled from potato mash inside many of the western communities in compounds and sold freely in all the major cities in Saudi.”

He said the alcohol could be bought in plastic water bottles for “just a few pounds” in the country’s major cities, with police officers - who he said only received a salary of £700-a-month - open to kickbacks.

The source said: "The parties are pretty crazy even by western standards. Many compounds have hot tubs and you often see people having sex in them”.

He said many young Saudis used Captagon - an amphetamine used by Isis fighters to keep them alert - and performed dangerous stunts in their cars while high.

Karl Andree was jailed for 12 months after he was allegedly caught with alcohol

It comes after more than 210,000 people signed an online petition urging Prime Minister David Cameron to prevent the public flogging of Karl Andree.

According to the petition set up by his son, Simon, the 74-year-old has battled cancer three times, has asthma and is unlikely to survive the punishment.

Simon has said he understood the British Government had been given assurances from Saudi officials that his father would not receive the lashings.

Saudi Arabia follows an extreme branch of Sunni Islam called Wahhabism, which is strictly enforced by an Islamic morality police called the Muttawa.

Severe punishments such as flogging and beheading can be carried out for “moral” crimes such as drinking alcohol or adultery.