Midnight alert, dawn arrests: How security crushed a multi-layer citizenship scam

• Key evidence in the case included DNA genetic fingerprinting, explicit confessions and inheritance record manipulation.

The security authorities have dismantled a complex citizenship forgery network and arrested three key suspects linked to 133 individuals, in a swift operation completed within just hours — a move that highlights the high level of coordination between security agencies.

Informed sources told Al-Rai four weeks ago at the Nuwaiseeb border crossing, a Kuwaiti passport holder attempted to flee the country to evade serving a seven-year prison term in a drug-related case.

Border immigration personnel grew suspicious during routine checks. Although the man carried official Gulf documents, a biometric fingerprint the scan revealed discrepancies — while his first and second names matched records in both Kuwait and another Gulf state, his third and fourth names differed entirely — raising serious doubts about the authenticity of his nationality.

Immediate coordination took place between the Ports Authority and the Nationality Investigations Department. Investigations uncovered that the fugitive’s father had originally obtained the Kuwaiti citizenship through forgery, using official Gulf documents under a different identity.

A security alert was placed on the father’s name at 10:00 pm — just two hours after the son’s arrest. At 2:00 am, the father attempted to flee Kuwait but was intercepted due to the alert. During questioning, he confessed to falsely claiming affiliation with a Kuwaiti citizen and being registered under a false paternal identity.

The rapid sequence of arrests — from son to father — occurred within hours, demonstrating exceptional operational efficiency.

The following day, authorities summoned 13 individuals listed as the father’s brothers in the same nationality file. They admitted the suspect was not their brother and revealed that their late father had added him fraudulently to the family record. They also disclosed the existence of another similarly forged “brother.”

A security alert was immediately issued for the second suspect, who attempted to exit Kuwait the same day but was arrested at the Al-Salmi border crossing.

DNA testing confirmed that the 13 men were genuine siblings, while the two suspects were unrelated and had used forged documents. Investigations further revealed they had previously waived inheritance rights and possessed official Gulf documents under false identities.

Authorities found that – the first suspect’s file was linked to 79 individuals; the second forged “brother” was linked to 54 individuals; this brings the total number of people who illegally obtained Kuwaiti citizenship through this network to 133.

Key evidence in the case included DNA genetic fingerprinting, explicit confessions and inheritance record manipulation.