KUWAIT: Paan leaves found hidden inside a truck whose driver tried to smuggle them through the Nuwaiseeb border crossing.

KUWAIT: Nuwaiseeb customs officers arrested a truck driver who attempted to smuggle paan leaves into the country through the Nuwaiseeb southern border crossing. The customs officers became suspicious of the Asian man and decided to search his truck. They found paan (betel) leaves, which is considered a banned drug. The driver had hidden them between boxes of potato chips. The driver was arrested and the leaves confiscated. Separately, a Saudi national who thought his vehicle would not be searched because of the heavy rains attempted to smuggle out 141 cartons of cigarettes. The cigarettes were confiscated and the vehicle impounded.

Parking dispute

An elderly woman was beaten by two juvenile girls because of a parking dispute, Al-Rai reported yesterday. The victim went to a police station and lodged a complaint and submitted a medical report with injuries suffered from the beating. She said that as she returned to her car, she found two angry girls waiting for her because she had blocked them. She said the girls insulted her verbally before beating her.

Physical assault

Several people ganged up against one man - two immobilized him and a third beat him because of money-related disputes with him. The victim suffered a deep wound to his scalp and bleeding from his nose and ear. He was rushed to Jahra Hospital. He then obtained a medical report and went to Naeem police station and lodged a complaint against the assailants. Detectives are investigating.

Arson

Investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest arsonists who attempted to burn a Syrian man's car in Jahra. The attempt failed however when the fire died out by itself. The car's owner reported the case to local police, but did not accuse anyone.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun and Agencies