Three Suspects Arrested for Distributing E-Cigarettes Among School Students

The Criminal Security Sector, represented by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigations, arrested three individuals on charges of selling and delivering electronic cigarettes to minors, specifically school students, by concealing them inside food items in a manner designed to deceive parents and ensure delivery to their children without detection.

The Ministry of Interior stated that the arrests followed intelligence reports regarding the spread of electronic cigarettes among some high school students. Investigations by the Capital Governorate Criminal Investigations Department identified a grocery store used to receive, prepare, and package orders in a way that concealed their true contents.

After obtaining the necessary legal authorization, one suspect was arrested while delivering an order. Simultaneously, the preparation site was raided, and the other suspects were apprehended, in cooperation with judicial police officers from the Kuwait Municipality, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition.

The suspects confessed to their involvement in the activity. Two of them managed the grocery store, prepared the orders, and concealed the electronic cigarettes inside food products to generate financial profit, while the third was responsible for delivery, fully aware of the nature of the products. Appropriate violations were recorded by the competent authorities, and the seized items were confiscated, pending the referral of the suspects to the competent judicial authorities after completing the necessary legal procedures.

Call for Parental Supervision

The Ministry of Interior emphasized that such practices exploit the ease of obtaining products through delivery services to target minors, stressing the importance of cooperation between security agencies and families to protect children from exploitation.

Parents were urged to monitor their children, verify the nature of products ordered via delivery services or purchased from stores, and strengthen dialogue with them to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking, in order to safeguard their health and safety.

The Ministry reaffirmed its ongoing efforts to detect and arrest anyone targeting minors through such practices, emphasizing that protecting children is a shared responsibility that requires cooperation between families and security agencies.