Many illegals arrested, coffee shops shut in Hawally swoop

Gang of Egyptian drug peddlers arrested

By Faris Al-Abdan

Agencies

Al-Seyassah Staff and

KUWAIT CITY, July 28: The Quadripartite Committee, which is affiliated to the Council of Ministers, launched an intensive inspection campaign on Wednesday targeting coffee shops in Hawally.

The campaign led to the arrest of 15 individuals, 13 of whom are runaway housemaids, as well as the closure of the erring coffee shops.

Speaking to the press after the campaign, Committee Chairman Mohammad Al-Thafeeri revealed those arrested were found to have violated the Labor Law.

He affirmed the campaign was in line with the directive of Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Al-Subaih and it was carried out under the supervision of the Public Authority for Manpower. He added the campaign led to the discovery that the owners of several coffee shops in Hawally are not complying with the regulations.

He cited as an example a café frequented by men but most of the workers serving them are women, indicating this is against the law. He confirmed the issuance of citations to those proven to have violated the regulations, while warnings were issued to some others who were instructed to contact the concerned authority in order to take the necessary action against the workers. He added all those arrested during the campaign were referred to the Residency Affairs Department for legal action.

He then appealed to the owners of such establishments to abide by the regulations in order to avoid legal

Top and above: Pictures taken during the raid conducted to arrest residence law violators at coffee shops in

Hawally.

problems. He also warned them against the employment of domestic workers who escaped from their sponsors.

Drug peddlers held:

Four Egyptian drug peddlers were arrested in possession of different types of drugs.

In a press statement issued by Ministry of Interior, the Public Relations and Security Media Department explained that the General Department for Criminal Evidences received information about a drug peddler. It immediately carried out investigations based on the information to discover that a judicial verdict of ten-year imprisonment was issued against the suspect for drug trafficking.

After taking necessary measures, he was arrested in his apartment in Jabriya area where the officers found 500 grams of hashish, four small pieces of hashish, ten grams of crystal meth and drug paraphernalia as well as a weighing scale for drugs.

When questioned, he confessed that he obtained the drugs from his compatriot. The latter was arrested from his apartment in Salmiya area. Eventually, the third and fourth suspects were also arrested in possession of three big pieces, two small pieces and six fingers of hashish as well as 100 ‘Tremadol’ pills and drug paraphernalia. They confessed that the drugs belong to them and they were planning to sell the drugs.

All four suspects were referred with the confiscated items to the concerned authorities for necessary legal action.