The Director of Air Customs Department, Walid Al-Nasser, called onto all passengers entering/leaving Kuwait to be mindful of their baggage and to not accept bags or packages from strangers because this could put them at risk for getting framed up. Anyone who is caught holding any illegal items in their possession will be held liable by the law.
Mr. Al-Nasser explained that if a passenger is carrying cash of up to $10,000 or its equivalent in local currency, he/she should personally come forth and report it to the customs officers in order for them to not be held legally liable for any fraudulent or malicious activities such as smuggling or money laundering which are grave offenses against the law.
Customs Warns Passengers to Watch Out for Unknown Parcels in their Luggage
There have already been several instances where foreign passengers arriving here in Kuwait from a vacation were caught by officials to be holding illegal substances in their possession, which they claim to have been handed to them by unknown individuals at the airport from where they came from.
The airport uses state-of-the-art technology to monitor passengers’ activities and luggage in order to maximize safety and security of all the people coming in and going out of the country.
Those whose bags are considered suspicious by airport officials are tagged with security tape which is not visible to the passenger. This security measure is done to allow passengers to exit the airport without having to be asked to open their luggage.
During the first half of the year, there have already been 46 reported cases where people have been arrested at the airport which include those who attempted to smuggle illegal drugs of various kinds, alcoholic beverages, pills, psychotropic substances as well as precious items such as watches and jewellery items, as well as undisclosed coins and money to customs authorities.