Kuwait: Expats arrested for growing poppies

Cairo: Kuwaiti police has arrested Indian expatriates allegedly growing poppies in the garden of their house as a source of narcotic drugs, a local newspaper has reported.

The raid on the house in the southern area of Al Fahaheel was launched by anti-drug police and security directorate in Al Ahmadi governorate in south Kuwait, according to Al Rai.

The illegal plantation was initially uncovered by Al Ahmadi Security Directorate that relayed the information to the General Administration for Drug Control, the paper quoted a security source as saying.

Samples from the seized plant were sent to criminal evidence as part of the case. Kuwait has recently stepped up swoops on drug smuggling and trafficking.

Authorities arrested 3,000 people in drug-related cases and seized record amounts of narcotics last year, Al Qabas newspaper had earlier reported.

The offenders included 1,500 Kuwaitis, 800 stateless Bidoons, 300 Egyptian expatriates and the rest belong to Syrian, Lebanese, Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani nationalities, it added, citing unidentified sources.

Around 866 more expatriates were deported from Kuwait for offences of taking drugs or possessing little amounts of drugs that did not warrant registering criminal cases against them, they added.

During the last year, Kuwaiti anti-drug police seized nearly 1,700kg of hashish, the biggest haul in a single year.

They also seized around 10 million drug pills and 30 kilograms of heroin as well as 200 kilograms of methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant locally known as shabu, according to the sources.

Kuwait applies tough penalties in drug cases, including the death penalty.