Kuwaiti gets seven years for smuggling 28,000 cans of alcoholic beer

The Court of Appeal has sentenced a Kuwaiti man to seven years in prison with hard labor for smuggling 28,000 cans of alcoholic beer—concealed within a shipment labeled as energy drinks. The court has acquitted the rest of the defendants involved in the case.

The Public Prosecution had charged five defendants with importing beer cans for the purpose of trafficking and evading payment of applicable customs duties, as detailed in the case investigations.

The customs inspector testified that when a container arrived from Vietnam the shipping documents described the contents as energy drinks. When the shipment was checked, the inspector found the boxes labeled as energy drinks, were in fact contained beer hidden among legitimate products.

The container was immediately sealed and was handed over to the Drug Enforcement Authority.
The main defendant, who owned the importing company, was arrested. The second and third defendants were later summoned for questioning. During the investigation, they admitted to importing alcoholic beverages from Vietnam and stated that the first defendant had been engaging in this activity for several years.

Following the seizure, the container was returned to the inspection center, where officials found 1,599 cardboard boxes, each containing 18 cans of “Heineken” beer (330 ml), totaling 28,781 cans, along with three empty cans bearing the same label.

The Criminal Court had initially sentenced the first and second defendants — both Kuwaiti citizens — to seven years in prison with hard labor, and sentenced the third defendant, an Egyptian, to four years with hard labor followed by deportation. The fourth and fifth defendants were acquitted.

However, the Court of Appeal upheld the seven-year sentence against the first defendant. It overturned the convictions of the second and third defendants, acquitting them on the grounds that they had no proven link to the seized alcohol, which was found in the possession of the first defendant, who had exploited his father’s company to carry out the smuggling operation.