According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior the General Department of Criminal Investigations identified and arrested members of a criminal network that targeted Kuwait Oil Company assets in the Al Ahmadi area. One employee at the company abused his position to alter serial numbers on the marine cables and prepare forged authorization papers that allowed the materials to leave the premises undetected. This internal assistance enabled the group which included both Kuwaiti nationals and expatriates from Arab and Asian countries to remove approximately 400 tons of cables without immediate alarm.
The ministry reported that a second suspect then impersonated a qualified engineer to market and sell the stolen cables to various buyers. A third participant purchased the items and attempted to dispose of them in the scrap market by applying additional falsified paperwork to hide their true source and origin. These coordinated steps formed the basis of an operation that netted the group substantial returns until investigators obtained legal warrants and moved in.
Searches conducted under judicial authorization uncovered KD 37000 in cash plus gold jewelry and a vehicle purchased with proceeds from one suspect the ministry’s account specified. A different suspect held KD 26210 in local currency together with USD 1000 in American bills during the raids. Officials also confiscated the counterfeit official stamp that had been used to validate the fraudulent documentation throughout the scheme.
Full coordination with the Kuwait Oil Company resulted in the recovery of all the stolen marine cables valued at KD 420000 the statement continued. The company which according to OPEC data oversees Kuwait’s entire upstream hydrocarbon sector that supplies the bulk of national revenue relies on such marine cables for its operational infrastructure. This joint effort prevented a major loss to public assets managed by the state entity.
The ministry noted that the suspects were referred to competent judicial authorities once investigative procedures and evidence gathering were completed. The case drew on forensic analysis of the forged materials and transaction records to establish links among the participants. Data published by the Central Statistical Bureau show that the oil and gas sector contributed more than 40 percent of Kuwait’s GDP in recent assessments underscoring the strategic importance of safeguarding its facilities.
