The General Administration of Customs announced that inspectors at Shuwaikh Port seized more than 2,200 items of subsidized food supplies that were concealed in six 40-foot containers scheduled for shipment to Sri Lanka. The discovery occurred on August 18 during standard export verification procedures at the port. Containers linked to several shipping and export companies held the illicit cargo, which violated rules reserving the products for domestic use only. The authority immediately confiscated the shipment to prevent its departure.
The customs authority’s breakdown of the seized materials showed 787 packages of subsidized pasta as the biggest portion. It was followed by 435 bottles of Dalal cooking oil, 349 bags of subsidized flour and 323 cans of subsidized tomato paste. The list also featured 211 cans of subsidized milk, 49 bags of subsidized rice, 38 bags of subsidized lentils, 35 bags of subsidized sugar and nine cans of Dalal vegetable ghee, bringing the aggregate to more than 2,200 units. This composition reflects an effort to move a range of basic food necessities out of the country.
According to the General Administration of Customs, the food items are all subsidized by the government and intended solely for the local market rather than for export. Regulations strictly forbid the shipment of these goods abroad to ensure they remain available for Kuwaiti consumers at controlled prices. The attempted diversion to Sri Lanka would have removed significant volume from local shelves had it not been stopped at the port.
The General Administration of Customs has referred the case involving the shipping and export companies to the appropriate authorities for prosecution under Kuwaiti laws. Officials stated that legal action will be pursued against all parties found responsible for the smuggling plot. The authority highlighted its monitoring at ports across the country to block such outflows.
Kuwait Times reported in 2021 that the General Administration of Customs had confiscated nearly 16,000 subsidized food items over two months in an intensified anti-smuggling drive. The earlier seizures involved a variety of similar products and highlighted the scale of potential losses to the subsidy program. Such historical data places the latest interception of more than 2,200 items in the context of sustained enforcement efforts by the authority. The campaign at the time led to the handover of the goods to the Ministry of Commerce for appropriate action.
