KUWAIT: Kuwaiti authorities have made their largest-ever seizure of illegal Lyrica (pregabalin) pills, some 15 million, and half a ton of the drug in raw powder form, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. The drugs were found in the possession of an "international gang" during a raid on a storage hideout conducted under the direct supervision of First Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister and Acting Defense Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the ministry said.

Authorities received information indicating the existence of a gang that obtained the tablets, alongside the drug in powder form, which it packaged in capsules for sale, read a statement by the ministry. After further investigations confirming the validity of the findings, and after obtaining legal permission, the hideout housing the narcotics was raided and searched.

Four people were arrested at the scene, with some 15 million tablets confiscated. Tablet compression and manufacturing devices and equipment alongside a large amount of packages were also seized. "Attempts to flood the country with this scourge have become more ferocious and professional, especially in the fields of promotion and smuggling," the statement quoted Minister Sheikh Talal as saying. "We must double our efforts and take a stand to confront this danger in full force, to fight it and to eliminate it in order to protect the youth of the country," he added.

The drug bust, which falls under the directives of the interior minister, underlines efforts to "decisively address and conduct preemptive raids on drug dealers and smugglers, protect the country's youth from the dangers of this devastating scourge, and tackle gangs specialized in transporting and promoting drugs, psychotropic substances and intoxicants." - KUNA