LOC21:51
18:51 GMT
KUWAIT, Aug 16 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti security services uncovered a criminal gang that specialized in producing and promoting Methanol - a toxic chemical compound also known as methyl alcohol or wood spirit.
The toxic chemical proved to be the main culprit behind several deaths from an Asian nationality recently, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Saturday.
Field investigations, jointly conducted by the Ministry's Criminal Investigation Department, the General Administration for Drug Control and the General Department of Criminal Evidence, and the Ministry of Health led to the arrest of an Asian person in Al-Salmiya area, Hawalli Governorate, and the seizure of quantity of the toxic chemical.
The defendant confessed to illicit processing and marketing the material and then three other defendants - of an Asian nationality too, including the main accomplice, were captured, according to the statement.
The clampdown on illicit production of methanol has so far led to 67 arrests and seizure of six facilities operating in this activity, as well as four other facilities under construction.
The Ministry warned against the hazards of this chemical compound to public health, saying it causes direct death. (end)
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