Kuwait’s Criminal Security Sector acting through the General Administration of Criminal Investigation and its Jahra branch has arrested four Indian nationals for their involvement in an illegal liquor production facility. The raid took place at a jakhour situated in a rural zone along the Abdali road in Jahra governorate on September 9, 2026. Officers caught three of the men in the midst of manufacturing the liquor and detained the fourth as he reached the site to acquire stock for resale purposes according to Al-Rai. The operation stemmed from prior surveillance and information that pinpointed the location as a hub for both production and distribution activities.
A thorough search conducted at the jakhour uncovered 236 plastic bottles already filled with the locally produced liquor and prepared for immediate sale. Investigators also confiscated a large number of barrels along with the raw materials required for fermentation and distillation plus a quantity of cash believed to be proceeds from prior sales. The three operators confessed to selecting the isolated desert structure specifically to manufacture store and sell their product without drawing attention from law enforcement. The fourth suspect admitted to regularly buying from them in order to sell the liquor onward in smaller quantities.
Three of the arrested individuals were already listed as wanted under existing judicial orders one of which pertains to a case of fraud and swindling. All four have been referred to the competent prosecution office specializing in drug and alcohol offenses for formal charges and further inquiry. The evidence collected from the scene including the finished product and manufacturing tools will support the legal case against the group.
This arrest represents one in a series of actions taken by the Interior Ministry to address the underground alcohol trade that operates despite the country’s strict legal ban on production and consumption of liquor. During a July 2025 campaign that involved multiple state agencies including the municipality and fire department officers dismantled six full scale operations in residential neighborhoods and took 52 individuals into custody Times Kuwait reported. That effort yielded thousands of bottles of prepared liquor together with production machinery and financial records that mapped the extent of the network.
The subsequent August 2025 operation focused on a poisoning outbreak that had affected scores of consumers and led to the detention of 67 people many of them from Indian Bangladeshi and Nepali communities Al Jazeera reported. The Ministry of Health at that time recorded 63 cases of methanol poisoning with numerous victims requiring intensive medical intervention including dialysis and ventilatory support. Such episodes have repeatedly demonstrated the public health hazards posed by adulterated homemade alcohol produced in unregulated environments.
Authorities have stepped up monitoring of remote desert areas and industrial zones where these makeshift factories are commonly established to evade detection. Similar cases have been recorded in Jahra and other governorates in recent years with security forces conducting regular patrols and intelligence driven raids. The four suspects have been placed in custody as investigations proceed toward full legal proceedings and potential referral to the Drugs and Alcohol Prosecution Office.
