Security sources told Al-Anba newspaper that a routine patrol by Mina Abdullah police station officers in the nearby desert on October 4 led to the arrest of an Asian expatriate suspected of illegal activity. The patrol grew suspicious when they spotted the man in the area without an apparent reason, prompting them to approach him for questioning. Upon seeing the officers, the individual discarded items he was carrying and attempted to flee, but the patrol gave chase and apprehended him shortly after. During initial questioning, he admitted to burying bottles of locally made liquor in the ground as a storage method to facilitate sales to customers.
The sources added that the suspect possessed a significant amount of cash believed to be proceeds from liquor sales. He then directed the officers to the burial site, where they excavated the area and recovered 48 bottles of the homemade alcohol that he had recently placed there. The cash and bottles were seized as evidence, and the man was taken into custody for further legal proceedings. Authorities have referred the case to the relevant prosecution for action under Kuwait’s strict anti-alcohol laws.
Kuwait enforces a complete ban on the production, sale and consumption of alcohol, a policy in place since the country’s independence that aims to align with Islamic principles and protect public health. The Ministry of Interior routinely conducts campaigns targeting bootleggers and underground liquor networks that attempt to circumvent the prohibition through creative concealment methods. Such operations form part of broader efforts to combat all forms of illicit substances, including narcotics that are often seized in parallel raids.
Ministry of Interior figures from the first half of 2025 show that authorities arrested 206 individuals for possession of alcohol and intoxicants during that period. In a separate campaign in December 2024, security forces detained 17 people and confiscated 1,284 bottles of alcoholic beverages valued at approximately 100,000 Kuwaiti dinars. These statistics underscore the persistent challenge posed by black market alcohol despite consistent enforcement.
In August 2025, a major operation against a toxic alcohol ring resulted in 67 arrests after the illicit drinks caused 23 deaths and over 160 poisoning cases, according to the Health Ministry and Ministry of Interior. That crackdown revealed six illegal production sites and highlighted the dangers of unregulated homemade liquor often containing harmful substances like methanol. The latest desert discovery in Mina Abdullah illustrates continued attempts by individual operators to adapt their concealment tactics in remote areas.
The arrested expatriate faces charges related to the illegal possession and attempted sale of prohibited substances. Police continue to investigate whether the man was part of a larger distribution network operating in the Ahmadi governorate. Similar cases in recent months have led to the demolition of makeshift production facilities and the imposition of heavy penalties on convicted individuals.
