Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities are hunting for suspected traffickers of 200kg found by coastguards in the country’s territorial waters, local media reported.
The haul was found inside six abandoned bags.
“Coastguard patrols were on a routine mission in the territorial waters off southern Kuwait where they saw an object floating on water,” a security source was quoted by Al Jarida newspaper.
On examining the object, they found six attached bags. “When they opened them, they found inside 200 kilos of hashish,” the source said.
Sea security authorities are conducting investigations to identify the persons who were supposed to get hold of the drugs, the source said.
Kuwait 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.
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.
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.
