The Ministry of Interior reported that the General Department for Drug Control, working with the General Administration of Customs, intercepted a sophisticated shipment and arrested a Sri Lankan national in the Mubarak Al-Kabeer and Salwa areas. A search of the suspect’s residence uncovered approximately 4 kilograms of heroin along with 100 grams of methamphetamine, 16 iron pieces known as cranks and a precision scale. The Sri Lankan confessed that he had been directed by another national living abroad to receive the narcotics, extract them from concealment and sell them locally in return for payment, according to the ministry.
In an unrelated case detailed by the same ministry statement, the Hawally Governorate Security Directorate apprehended a Bangladeshi national in Salmiya after observing suspicious conduct in an open parking area. Officers discovered narcotics during an initial search, and the suspect admitted to concealing drugs in vacant lots and transmitting the coordinates to buyers through his mobile phone. A follow-up search of his home produced further narcotics, bringing the case total to 101 bags of heroin, 25 bags of methamphetamine, four pieces of drug paraphernalia and one precision weighing scale, the ministry said.
Both the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi suspects along with all seized materials from the two operations were referred to competent authorities for legal proceedings, according to the Ministry of Interior. The ministry framed the actions as components of routine enforcement by the Criminal Security Sector aimed at countering both trafficking and local distribution networks. A ministry assessment found that field coordination across governorates remains central to disrupting supply lines that enter through air, sea and land routes.
Ministry figures from May 2026 show a comparable nationwide operation that resulted in the detention of 11 individuals, among them two Bangladeshi nationals, and the seizure of 150 grams of liquid methamphetamine, 202 grams of heroin, 41 grams of hashish and 507 Captagon pills. An additional June 2026 action accounted for seven arrests, including three Sri Lankans, and the recovery of 2.55 kilograms of hashish plus more than 6,000 Lyrica capsules, previous ministry releases indicated. These cumulative tallies place the year’s enforcement activity in the context of sustained pressure on multi-national networks operating within the expatriate communities.
Public Authority for Civil Information data places Kuwait’s expatriate population at more than 3.3 million, with South Asian nationals forming a substantial segment of the workforce in sectors vulnerable to such criminal exploitation. The Ministry of Interior has conducted parallel campaigns against environmental violations and unlicensed commercial activities in the same period, according to its periodic security updates. All referred cases remain under judicial review as authorities continue to process evidence collected during the raids.
