Kuwait Airport Customs Intercepts Major Drug Smuggling Attempt Using Paper Sheets

Customs officers at Kuwait International Airport successfully intercepted an attempt to smuggle a significant quantity of a narcotic substance disguised as ordinary A4-sized paper sheets, according to an announcement by the General Administration of Customs on Sunday.

The illicit operation came to light during a routine baggage scan of an incoming passenger. Upon closer examination, authorities uncovered 1,603 sheets of A4 paper with a combined weight of 13.154 kilograms, which were heavily saturated with an unspecified chemical narcotic substance.

The suspect, identified as a French national who traveled from London on a visitor's visa, along with the confiscated narcotics, has been transferred to the General Administration for Combating Drugs and Alcohol for further legal action.

This interception follows closely on the heels of a historic announcement by Kuwait regarding the largest drug bust in the nation's history, which involved the seizure of nearly $500 million worth of Lyrica, a prescription medication frequently abused as a party drug.

Lyrica is the brand name for pregabalin, a pharmaceutical primarily prescribed for epilepsy and nerve pain, though it is also utilized for generalized anxiety disorders in certain regions. According to Sheikh Fahad Al Yousef, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, that massive operation successfully intercepted five tonnes of the drug in powder form alongside nearly four million ready-for-sale capsules.