{
  "id": 4481553,
  "title": "Kuwait foils bid by air traveller to smuggle in drug-laced paper sheets",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/kuwait-foils-bid-by-air-traveller-to-smuggle-in-drug-laced-paper",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T18:54:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/gulf/2026/08/30/kuwait-foils-bid-by-air-traveller-to-smuggle-in-drug-laced-paper-sheets/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kuwait's international airport thwarted an attempt by a French tourist to smuggle drugs onto the plane via paper saturated with a narcotic substance, according to the General Administration of Customs. The discovery was made during a routine luggage scan. Authorities found 1,603 A4-sized sheets of paper, weighing 13.154kg, embedded with the illicit substance. The exact type of narcotic was not disclosed by the customs administration. The French national, who had arrived from London on a visitor's visa, was handed over to the General Administration for Combating Drugs and Alcohol along with the seized narcotics. This incident occurred shortly after Kuwait announced its largest drug bust to date, seizing nearly $500 million worth of pregabalin, commonly known as Lyrica, a prescription medicine used for treating nerve pain and epilepsy. The latest seizure included five tonnes of the drug in powdered form and almost four million capsules ready for sale, according to Sheikh Fahad Al Yousef, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.",
  "summary": "Officers at Kuwait 's international airport have foiled an attempt to smuggle in a large quantity of a \"narcotic substance\" using A4-sized sheets of paper, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday. The smuggling attempt was discovered when a passenger's luggage was being scanned. Closer inspection led to the discovery of 1,603 A4-sized sheets of paper, weighing a total of 13.154kg,…",
  "key_points": [
    "Authorities find 1,603 A4-sized sheets weighing 13.154kg embedded with illicit substance.",
    "French national arrested with seized narcotics, following Kuwait's largest drug bust."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Kuwait foils bid by air traveller to smuggle in drug-laced paper sheets",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/kuwait-foils-bid-by-air-traveller-to-smuggle-in-drug-laced-paper-4483948",
        "published": "2026-08-30T18:54:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}