Kuwaiti Blueblood Reportedly Could Face Death Penalty

CAIRO — A member of Kuwait’s ruling Sabah family faces a possible death sentence for allegedly trafficking heroin in Egypt, an Interior Ministry source said Friday.

The ministry source said Sheik Talal Nasser al Sabah, a second cousin to Kuwait’s Emir Jabber al Ahmed al Sabah, was arrested in his luxury Cairo apartment last week after allegedly selling heroin to an undercover police officer.

Under local law, smuggling heroin into Egypt for sale carries a possible death penalty, while smuggling the drug for personal use carries a possible life sentence.

Egyptian newspapers said Talal, who was arrested with a male Syrian companion, Abdo Mohammed Naeem, was remanded in custody for 45 days pending an investigation into the charges against him.

Talal, 33, has already admitted smuggling 2.2 pounds of heroin into Egypt but claims the drug was for his own use. Cairo newspapers, however, quoted security sources as saying that the Kuwaiti smuggled the heroin into Egypt to sell for $300,000.