The General Administration of Customs reported that officers at Terminal 4 of Kuwait International Airport discovered 1,603 A4-sized sheets saturated with a narcotic substance known as “chemical” in the luggage of a French national on August 30, 2026. The traveler had arrived from London on a visit visa when routine screening of his belongings led to the find. The total weight of the soaked sheets reached 13.154 kilograms. Officials described the seizure as part of ongoing inspections at the main air entry point.
Following the detection, the deputy head of the General Administration of Customs for Customs Ports, Research and Investigation Affairs supervised preparation of the seizure report. The suspect and all confiscated materials were referred to the General Administration for Combating Drugs and Alcohol for legal proceedings under applicable regulations. This step aligns with standard protocols for narcotics cases at border facilities.
The Ministry of Interior warned in an August 2026 statement that drug traffickers have increasingly adopted new concealment methods involving ordinary items. The ministry highlighted the so-called “A4” technique in which paper sheets are infused with psychotropic substances to bypass conventional detection. Such warnings followed a series of incidents that exposed the tactic’s use for synthetic drugs including variants referred to as “chemical.” The Interior Ministry noted that its General Directorate for Drug Control maintains proactive monitoring to counter these evolving approaches.
In a comparable case on August 18, 2026, the General Administration of Customs intercepted 228 similar A4 sheets from a British visitor arriving from the United Kingdom at the same terminal. Two air cargo shipments from the United Kingdom and Canada yielded more than 3.5 kilograms of chemically saturated papers and printed materials in July 2026, leading to the arrest of an Indian national. An Asian individual faced charges in May 2026 after the discovery of 10 soaked sheets plus five grams of methamphetamine, according to a statement from the General Directorate for Drug Control. These incidents demonstrate a regional pattern in smuggling attempts through Kuwaiti ports.
Kuwait enacted a unified anti-narcotics law in December 2025 that sets severe penalties for smuggling and trafficking, including the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment for significant quantities. The legislation, comprising 84 articles, addresses importation, possession and distribution of controlled substances with zero tolerance for recreational drugs such as synthetics. Government publications have outlined that even small amounts can trigger extended detention and heavy fines under the updated framework. The measures support coordinated enforcement across customs and drug control bodies at all entry points.
