KUWAIT CITY: Kuwaiti authorities have arrested 67 people accused of producing and distributing locally made alcoholic drinks that killed 23 people in recent days, the Interior Ministry announced.

In a statement posted on X late Saturday, the ministry said it had dismantled six factories and identified another four that were not yet operational, operating out of residential and industrial areas. Among those detained was a Bangladeshi national believed to be the head of the criminal network.

Investigations revealed that methanol, a highly toxic substance, was being used to produce the illicit liquor. A Nepali member of the group reportedly explained to authorities how the methanol was prepared and sold.

The arrests follow warnings from Kuwait’s Ministry of Health, which on Thursday confirmed that methanol poisoning cases linked to the tainted alcohol had surged to 160, including 23 fatalities—mostly among Asian nationals. At least 51 patients required emergency kidney dialysis, while 31 others were placed on mechanical ventilation.

The Embassy of India in Kuwait also confirmed that around 40 Indian nationals were among those hospitalised. “There have been some fatalities, some are in a critical condition while others are recovering,” the mission said in a statement on X.

Methanol is a colourless industrial alcohol found in household and industrial products, and its ingestion can be fatal. Symptoms of poisoning—often delayed—include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, hyperventilation, and respiratory distress.

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