Kuwaiti coast guards have arrested two drug smugglers and seized their stash of 473 kilos (1,042 pounds) of hashish, the interior ministry said Wednesday.
Fahad Abdullah, a Kuwaiti national, and Iranian Mohammed Reda, were arrested after a coastguard patrol stopped their boat inside the emirate's territorial waters, the ministry said in a statement.
The seizure is the biggest drug haul since May 16th when Kuwaiti security forces seized 500 kilos (1,100 pounds) of hashish and arrested eight smugglers.
Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khaled al-Sabah vowed in the statement that all ministry agencies would continue their war against drug smugglers.
Kuwait said in January that it was to sign a security agreement with Iran shortly to combat drug smuggling and infiltration by sea.
The major problem in waging war on drugs remains Kuwait's 290-kilometer-coast line facing Iran, a key transit country for narcotics moving west to the Gulf states and Europe from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
But despite stiffer penalties, including the death sentence, for drug use and trafficking in this oil-rich emirate, both continue to rise. More than half of the cases, which come before judges concern drugs.
Fifty-seven people died of drug overdoses in Kuwait during 1999, up from 28 the previous year and 47 in 1997 - KUWAIT CITY (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
