The Ministry of Interior reported that the General Department of Criminal Investigation arrested the Egyptian national after receiving information that he was promoting and selling abortion pills in Kuwait. Officers apprehended the suspect in Salmiya, where they seized the consignment during the raid. The ministry placed the total value of the confiscated pills at KD 9,520 and confirmed that both the individual and the seized items were referred to competent authorities for legal action.
Investigators acted swiftly on the intelligence to prevent further distribution of the unregulated medication, the ministry said. The operation forms part of routine enforcement against unauthorized pharmaceutical sales that violate local health and drug laws. No additional details on the suspect’s background or method of acquisition were released in the announcement.
The interior ministry has reported at least two similar arrests earlier in 2026 involving abortion pills. In August, the ministry detailed the detention of an Egyptian gynecologist who was caught supplying the pills alongside performing illegal procedures, with 49 abortion pills and 115 psychotropic tablets recovered from his home. The August case, which also resulted in a referral to prosecution, followed a sting operation at the suspect’s private clinic.
A separate October incident saw the ministry announce the arrest of a Turkish national found with 105 abortion pills worth KD 1,040. That suspect admitted during questioning to importing 56 pills from Turkey on each of his monthly tourist visa entries for sale in Kuwait, according to the ministry’s statement released on October 26. The breakdown of seven pills found on his person in Abu Fatira and 98 at his Fintas residence matched the reported total.
Kuwait maintains tight controls on medications such as abortion pills, which require specific approvals and cannot be sold without authorization under the country’s pharmaceutical regulations. The repeated cases this year illustrate the ministry’s focus on disrupting supply chains for such items, which have surfaced in multiple governorates. All three operations concluded with the suspects and evidence transferred for further legal processing.
