Manama: Drugs with a street value of around 10 million Kuwaiti dinars have been seized by Kuwaiti authorities in two separate raids.
A container carrying detergents from Lebanon drew the attention of customs officials after it remained unclaimed at the Shuwaikh seaport for more than three months.
When it was opened for inspection, the customs officers discovered around five million pills carefully hidden in wooden supports under the detergent boxes, Kuwaiti daily Al Rai reported on Thursday.
According to an officer, the smugglers might have planned to wait until the container, unclaimed for more than three months, was sold in a public bid to put their hands on the drugs that had a street value of around 7 million dinars.
In the second bust, customs officers at the airport found around two million pills hidden in 826 schools bags imported from Lebanon. According to the officers, the pills had a street value of KD2.8 million.
The cargo shipment that included 2,000 bags was claimed by a Syrian resident who was arrested as an investigation was launched.
The probe will look into the possibility of a link between the drugs seized at the seaport and at the airport.
Congratulating the officers for their diligent work, Khalid Al Saif, the head of customs, said they would offered financial rewards in appreciation of their efforts.
Kuwaiti authorities have been actively involved in the fight against importing drugs into the country or using it as a transit point for drug-smuggling.
In 2012, an Arab expatriate was arrested for attempting to smuggle a cocktail of drugs that included hashish, opium, Bango — a type of marijuana — and narcotic tablets.
The expatriate had hidden one kilo of hashish, two opium joints and 1,000 Tramadol tablets inside frozen ducks and pigeons he brought from home.
The smuggler was arrested after officers noted that he behaved suspiciously as he was checking out of the airport, prompting them to search his luggage thoroughly.
In 2010, authorities said they dealt with 516 major cases of drug trafficking - in hallucinogens and other narcotics - and arrested 689 people over drugs-related charges in the first six months of the year.
