The Kuwait Customs Administration said in a statement that officers at Terminal 4 of Kuwait International Airport discovered the impregnated sheets during a detailed inspection of the traveler’s luggage from the British capital. Initial scanning had prompted further examination that revealed the A4-sized papers soaked in the substance locally known as “chemical.” The administration described the find as part of routine but intensified controls at the airport’s arrival points.
A total of 1,197 sheets were recovered with a combined weight of 9.6 kilograms according to the official statement released on September 16. The passenger was detained at the scene along with the seized materials. Officials prepared a seizure report and transferred both the suspect and the items to the General Department for Drug and Alcohol Control for legal action.
The General Administration of Customs has encountered this concealment method in several operations over recent months. In a July 17 statement the administration detailed two separate interceptions of air cargo shipments from the United Kingdom and Canada that together yielded more than 3.5 kilograms of chemically saturated papers. Those efforts led to the arrest of an Indian national who attempted to collect the consignments.
An August 30 announcement from the same authority reported the seizure of 1,603 similar drug-laced A4 sheets weighing 13.154 kilograms from a French national who had flown in from London on a visit visa. The customs body noted that such paper-based smuggling has emerged as a recurring tactic across multiple terminals and cargo facilities. Earlier ministry reports from May and June had already flagged the approach as an evolving strategy used to evade standard detection.
Coordination between customs inspectors and the General Department for Drug and Alcohol Control has facilitated the prompt handover in each of these incidents. The latest case follows the established protocol of immediate referral for investigation and prosecution under anti-narcotics laws. Authorities have applied advanced imaging and targeted searches to identify the disguised substances on inbound flights from Europe.
The administration’s latest statement provided no further specifics on the passenger’s nationality or the precise chemical makeup of the narcotic. Comparable seizures throughout 2026 have involved synthetic drugs that traffickers dissolve into paper for transport. Customs operations at Terminal 4 continue to prioritize these unconventional smuggling formats amid sustained enforcement measures.
