Kuwait seizes over 13,000 bottles of wine in major smuggling crackdown
Interior ministry describes operation as a ‘painful blow’ to liquor dealers
Dubai: The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has seized a shipment containing over 13,000 bottles of wine, marking the largest smuggling operation intercepted in the Gulf country this year.
The illicit shipment was concealed within a furniture container that originated from an Asian country.
Describing the operation as a “painful blow” to liquor dealers and promoters, the ministry underscored its commitment to enforcing the country’s stringent ban on the sale and circulation of alcohol. The captured consignment comprised 13,422 bottles of alcohol, with an estimated value of one million Kuwaiti dinars (approximately $3.2 million).
Footage and photographs released by the ministry showcased the vast and varied assortment of bottles and parcels confiscated at Shuwaikh Port.
Further investigations into the smuggling operation revealed three individuals implicated in the elaborate scheme. The accused parties, along with the seized alcoholic beverages, have been handed over to the relevant authorities to initiate the necessary legal proceedings.