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Kuwait

Undercover Cops

Two days ago I was parked at the traffic light on the Gulf Road before KFC heading to Kuwait City when a cop in a tracksuit walked out onto the road towards a Ford Mustang that was a couple of cars in front of me. I recognized he was a cop because he was wearing a fluorescent orange vest with the words “POLICE” printed on it plus it looked like he was wearing his badge on a necklace.

Last night I was dropping a friend off near Holiday Inn Salmiya when I noticed a checkpoint on the opposite side of the road with cops again dressed in casual civilian clothing with the same fluorescent orange vest and badges hanging around their necks.

Not sure why they’re in civilian clothing but my guess is it’s connected to the recent crackdown. I’ve been hearing a lot of stories recently in regards to the crackdowns and it’s hard to tell what is real and what is just a rumor. Fajer has been trying to find out more in regards to that but she’s been facing difficulty as well.

53 replies on “Undercover Cops”

Yes, unfortunately coming to that stage .

Being here for 30 yrs , had so much love for this country spending all childhood and school days .

With this crackdown and cutting short of expats will finally result in saying goodbye to this country.

So this is how God still forgives Kuwait. Because there is at least one sensible good and brave soul.A true Kuwaiti. Salute you Grandpa.

Well they’re wearing POLICE vests which is good. A lot of people get fooled by random guys walking up, saying “I’m police” with no badge or ID, and stealing stuff apparently.

Let them do what they want… its their country after all! And I say this with a heavy heart and the least amount of compassion I have for a beautiful country called Kuwait. This country is built on tears, sweat and blood of expats and a miniscule percentage of good, hardworking, honest and humble Kuwaitis (whom I thank a lot for making my stay memorable)

One day when all this is done with and when the need for ‘cheap labor on call’ is going to be the need of the hour then people who today are advocating the need to THROW out expats will be the ones who will rue their decisions the most.

You can kiss your development goodbye with this attitude, Kuwait! There is no maturity left in you, its ony hatred, arrogance and the ungratefulness you bring to the fore!

Oh no its not Mr. Khan. Its cheap labor right now which is running the Manufacturing /Production & Service Sector and helping the Economy of this world! If it werent for China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Russia ‘low wage semi to high skill labor’ then we would have been paying an arm and a leg for almost everything and I mean EVERYTHING!

Care to have a look at KPMG, Citi and Deloittes Global Industry Manufacturing Output Competitiveness Index for Q1 2013 for the countries I metioned above? You’ll be happy the next time you read, see or use ‘Cheap Labor’!

I have seen an increase in the checkpoints the articles describes…but I’m a middle-aged white guy. They do not seem interested in talking to me. I feel slighted.

To be fair I think all the whites should be checked as well. How else would people be getting dope and booze in Kuwait ?

In the event someone in civilian clothes asks to see my ID, I will obviously ask him to show some identification first. In remote possibility that he would willingly speak english and comply with my demand without arresting me for questioning his authority, how would I know if the ID/badge is genuine?
Would really help if everyone shared what a police/undercover cop badge looked like.

*Edit
-Missed a ‘the’ somewhere.
-Would really help if someone shared what a police/undercover cop badge looked like.

Its good to know that ‘real’ cops are patrolling the streets as opposed to the numerous fake ‘CIDs’. What you probably heard is all true Mark as many people have fallen victim to the fake cops and I hope the undercover police sorts it out.
One person was killed last year in a fake cop checkpoint
https://www.bloggermathai.com/blog/kuwait/be-aware-and-stay-safe/
The most recent was a pregnant lady who was similarly dragged on the road but she and her baby survived the ordeal.
https://www.indianfrontliners.com/article/6490-indian-woman-delivers-baby-after-criminal-attack-in-salmiya/82-notice-board

Don’t hold it personally.. I was asked to show them my “Civil ID” even though I wasn’t driving and sitting int he passenger seat in the Taxi, please note that I am a Kuwaiti, he just wants to make sure.

Police policies are getting strict now and it’s for the best. Both for safety in the roads from all of these jackasses and deportation of Illegal immigrants, illegal substances and whatnot, you get the picture right?

Can you as a Kuwaiti, whose defending these tactics, look straight in the eye of any expat with your conscience intact and say the same words you uttered above?

Actually they are cracking down on Kuwaitis as well. I watched a video of Abd Alfatah on YouTube and he was treating Kuwaitis like expats. No wasta. If you get wasta your wasta will get in deep shit with you.

Mark is right… the crackdown is for Kuwaities as well.. but i dont think its for Westerners.. 😛

+1

It seems like they have the universal right of freedom 😛

Their embassies are just too strong.. n i think Kuwait doesnt wanna deal with the Human rights pressure from the Western end.

or may be..this is just a nice gesture to show Kuwaits gratitude towards west for helping (for money) during gulf war.

whatever the reason.. Westerners have an upper hand in Kuwait..

P.S. I F%^&*(g hate this… this is racism.. this is so freaking annoying.. why do people always have to look up to the whites? what makes them so freaking special? Its like the west is full of first world countries & we all are third world countries!!!

a good % of these westerners are homeless.. you can see them on the streets of U.S begging.. and many of the westerners who come to the middle east are just not good enough for the money they are being paid…

Grrrrrrr…

Most of the Westerners, particularly Europeans, are managers of these big businesses here in Kuwait. I am sure Alshaya, Kharafi, and other big time Kuwaiti owners will have shit fit. I am sure that the police arent going to raid expat buildings with KOC workers or other majority expat buildings managed by real estate offices with good reputations based on their policies. The building next to mine is full of expat Arabs, Filipinos, Ethiopians, and Indians and they have been hit already by a raid. That was at the very beginning of the crack down, but it only happened because of a tipster.

Mark, i enjoy ur blog but not the comments section due to the amount of negativity from ppl here…
No offence to all the expats that comment, if you dont like it here then just leave. Go back to whatever country your passports from or go to Canada.

@nYx “This country is built on tears, sweat and blood of expats”, are u serious?.. were they enslaved ? Do they work for free ?..
i’ll gladlly look any expat in the eye and tell them to back to where they came from.

“Mark, i enjoy ur blog but not the comments section due to the amount of negativity from ppl here…”

Good afternoon Princess. Welcome to the real world!

You probably won’t like this comment either. But your ignorance forces me to react.

I share your feeling ‘GTFO’ too. Only in my case towards the so called ‘refugees’ in Europe.
These people have never brought anything positive to Europe. Just their laziness, -daily visits to religious buildings, proselytism and collecting social security money for themselves and their children.
And of course, last but not least, their unwillingness to integrate.

Statistics show that 65% of their offspring, who’re born in Europe and still under the age of 23, have already been involved in a criminal act.
This whole group is for over 30 years fully depending on grants. But that’s no news really. The cost of these people are a burden for each European country.
We’re not talking about millions of dollars, but tens- of billions each year.

No, I do not refer to Asians. They work hard, have respect for the law and do everything to build a future for themselves and their family. In their country of origin or in Europe.
May be it’s got to do with respect that these people show- and receive as equal human beings.

Might it be a good idea to exchange ‘our’ refugees with ‘your’ Asians, who’re now being deported on a daily basis?

Paying expats 250 US a month is simply making abuse of the miserable situation in their home-country.
It’s not a walk in the park, if you have to leave your family and friends behind to work abroad making just enough money to send home so that they can survive too.
The sponsor system is no modern slavery, it’s just another abject form of Human trafficking.

The United Nations Human Rights Council will for sure condemn these deportations of human beings without any consideration to International Law.

Oh no, wait… Maybe after 2014.

from the way your pmsing i guess your an expat.anyways i think you should leave if you dont like it here im an expat but i make it and i enjoy it because im ballin unlike you. im just wondering do you drive a cressida?

i’ve seen a Hyndai Sonata undercover car with lights…….looked pretty cool with its hidden lights.

I wish there was an official statement stating for instance “If you use Viber/Skype/Whatsapp, you will be deported. Period.”

Everyone has a new narration, with a new twist and new spices.

Must seriously suck to be Asian in Kuwait. People actually worry about having an app on their phone!?!?! I would gladly walk into a police station and skype with a friend in front of a hundred cops and I’m confident no one will even look twice.

Warning to Expats:

During the recent and ongoing crack down there has been a surge of complaints and arrests of individuals impersonating police officers.

I was only stopped once by undercover police, and to my delight they were polite and professional.

The asked me for my driver’s license and civil id, and when he handed it back and I said “Thank you”, he said “You are welcome sir”.

Compare this with my two beat cop experience:

1. Stopped at a checkpoint. Looked at me, “bataqa”. I handed him the docs, and then he asked me quite rudely what I was doing and where I was going. I just told him in a flat tone “going”. He looked at me, looked in my car, and then just handed me the papers; then barked “move”. I looked at him for a second, then I drove off.

2. The second case, on 5th ring road – had a flat tire on an entrance ramp pulled over and called for a tow. Regular patrol car pulled up behind me and stopped. I got out of my car and so did the officer. “Hello sir, are you okay?” I had to blink twice cause I wasn’t expecting that. “Yes, thank you just a flat tire.” “Do you need help?” “Thank you, I have called for a crane.” “You should move your car, can you drive it?” “I said yes.” Then he pulled his car across the lane to stop traffic till I hobbled my car down the ramp and on the shoulder.

Just saying, along with whatever you hear, there are lots of hard working people. Policing people is a tough gig.

The viber and other apps thing is really retarded! When my wife and I are out smoking shisha you can here the ringtones of these apps ring out through the building. So if a Kuwaiti is caught, if the police really care about this stupid law since they are using them as well, I guess they will get sent home? Just saying.

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