Kuwait on Wednesday announced it had carried out the largest drugs bust in its history, seizing nearly $500 million worth of a medicine that has become a popular party drug.
The haul consisted of five million tonnes of powder and almost four million capsules ready for sale, said Sheikh Fahad Al Yousef, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
The drug is Lyrica, a brand of anxiety and epilepsy medicine also known as pregabalin that can have similar effects to alcohol when used recreationally.
The bust was valued at 150 million Kuwaiti dinars ($485 million), Sheikh Fahad announced during a drug prevention event. He said authorities also uncovered a factory for producing Lyrica, and equipment used to prepare capsules.
The raid “underscores the magnitude of the threat posed by these substances – which are often packaged in capsules – and highlights the significant efforts being made to combat this scourge”, Kuwaiti state media said.
Lyrica, or pregabalin, has legitimate uses. Doctors may prescribe it to limit the abnormal brain activity that causes seizures, to block chemicals that cause anxiety, or to ease nerve pain linked to diabetes and shingles.
But it has also become a popular recreational drug in the Middle East. Kuwait seized 15 million illegally obtained pills from a farm near the Saudi border in 2023. UAE police have previously caught drug dealers offering Lyrica on WhatsApp along with hashish and crystal meth.
Kuwait passed a new drugs law last year, which the minister said had “become a source of fear for drug dealers”. He said authorities in the Gulf state were “working with the spirit of one team to eradicate that scourge” of narcotics.
Like many Middle East countries, Kuwait is also battling to stamp out the trade in Captagon, a popular amphetamine. In February, Kuwaiti authorities seized more than 300,000 Captagon pills in a joint operation with neighbouring Iraq.
Kuwait was also involved in an operation with the UAE in which more than 14 million Captagon pills were seized by Dubai Police. The consignment was hidden inside sacks of corn and spread across five containers in a bid to avoid detection during a sea voyage.
