KUWAIT CITY, Aug 29: The Criminal Security Sector, including the General Department of Criminal Investigations, the Department of Combating Financial Crimes, and the Department of Maritime Ports Investigations, in coordination with the General Administration of Customs, has dismantled an organized gang smuggling petroleum materials out of Kuwait.

The operation began after the Customs Administration reported that ten containers, labeled as iron, were prepared for export. Upon inspection, authorities discovered that the containers actually contained petroleum materials, distributed across two customs declarations linked to Zagros General Trading Company and Art Tower Company for General Construction of Residential Buildings.

Investigations traced the shipments to Khaled Mutlaq Al-Mutairi, a Kuwaiti national employed by the Kuwait Municipality, and his partner Mutlaq Falah Al-Mutairi, a Kuwaiti national serving as a sergeant in the Ministry of Interior. Alongside co-accused Sikandra John, an Indian national, and Ahmed Ali Muhammad Hassan, an Egyptian national, they had collected petroleum materials in the Kabd area, stored them in flexible containers and tanks, and falsified customs data to facilitate illegal export.

Authorities raided a facility in Kabd used to prepare containers and store petroleum materials, arresting three Indian nationals: Muhammad Sharif Sheikh Naib, Vijan Pinkrissen, and Thangaraj Ramasamy. During interrogation, they admitted involvement and revealed that Khaled Mutlaq Al-Mutairi had been running the smuggling operation for approximately eight months, shipping two consignments per month.

Further investigation revealed the involvement of Abdulaziz Saud Adhbi Al-Dhafiri, a Kuwaiti customs inspector at Shuwaikh Port, who assisted the defendants in clearing shipments through customs channels.

The agricultural land in Kabd used for assembling and storing the petroleum materials was leased from Walid Qasim Issa, a Syrian national and fugitive representing Al-Waleed United Company. Issa had illegally divided and leased the land to industrial and construction companies for personal profit, ignoring its designated agricultural purpose.

List of Defendants and Sponsors:

Defendants and Roles in the Incident