The General Department for Drug Control made the arrest under the direct supervision of First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah following investigations that led officers to the truck in Kabd the ministry said in a statement. Officers discovered the 300000 Captagon pills concealed within the vehicle’s spare tire and wrapped in insulating material to avoid detection prompting them to call in Kuwait Fire Force personnel to cut open the tire and retrieve the contraband. The ministry identified those present at the scene as Head of the Criminal Security Sector Brig Fahad Al-Badr GDDC Director General Brig Mohammad Qabazard and GDDC Assistant Director General Brig Hamad Al-Sabah.
The Turkish driver admitted during initial questioning that he had brought the pills from a neighboring country through a land border crossing while entering Kuwait on a transit visa the ministry reported. Authorities coordinated with the anti-narcotics agency in the country of origin as part of the probe and referred both the suspect and the seized drugs to the relevant authorities for legal action the statement added. The operation reflects ongoing efforts to intercept smuggling attempts at various entry points according to the ministry’s account.
This seizure forms part of a series of recent anti-narcotics actions by Kuwaiti authorities the interior ministry noted in prior announcements. In September 2026 a joint operation with Iraq resulted in the seizure of 700000 Captagon pills and the arrest of two suspects at livestock farms in the same Kabd region according to a separate interior ministry statement. That earlier case highlighted the value of cross-border cooperation in disrupting trafficking networks the ministry said at the time.
A joint UAE-Kuwait operation dismantled an international drug network and seized over 14 million Captagon pills Gulf Daily News reported citing statements from officials in both countries on October 20 2026. Such coordinated actions have become central to efforts against the Captagon trade which frequently exploits land routes and transit visas across the Gulf the involved authorities have stated in multiple updates. UNODC data from its December 2025 research brief places the minimum number of Captagon tablets intercepted across the Arab region at 177 million since December 2024.
Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah emphasized that security agencies would continue to cut off drug smuggling routes and pursue everyone involved without leniency the ministry’s latest statement quoted him as saying. He described the protection of society and its members from this scourge as a top security priority adding that all attempts to introduce such substances would face resolute measures. The minister’s comments align with repeated interior ministry assertions that enforcement remains focused on every link in the trafficking chain.
The latest case follows a pattern in which traffickers have concealed Captagon in vehicle components to evade standard inspections the ministry’s accumulated briefings indicate. In the current instance the use of insulating material inside the spare tire required specialized intervention to safely extract the haul without damage or risk the statement detailed. UNODC figures in its World Drug Report 2026 show methamphetamine seizures rising in the Near and Middle East while Captagon seizures continue across Gulf destinations including Kuwait the agency reported.
