KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: In an operation conducted by the Investigations Division of the Criminal Security Sector under the Ministry of Interior - General Administration of Criminal Investigation, a significant number of Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy employees working outdoors associated with the Ministry were arrested and charged with tampering with attendance fingerprints, reports Al-Jarida daily.

According to a security source these employees were found utilizing silicone fingerprints to falsify their attendance and departure records, facilitated by collaboration with a foreign security staff member and a local employee, for a monetary consideration.

The source elaborated that the investigating officers discovered the silicone fingerprints, employed to forge the attendance system, in possession of the aforementioned security and citizen employees.

The seized evidence was subsequently forwarded to the General Department of Criminal Evidence for comparison with the genuine fingerprints of employees stationed at those sites. The source added that several employees were successfully apprehended and detained as per the Public Prosecution's order, while others remain at large. Efforts are underway to identify additional individuals, in coordination with forensic experts.

In a related development, Ministry of Electricity sources disclosed that the exposure of the fingerprint forgery scheme originated from a report filed by an employee at one of the external sites.

The Ministry of Interior was promptly alerted, taking swift action to apprehend the culprits. The Ministry affirmed that no further actions have been taken at this time, deferring to the ongoing investigation under the purview of the Public Prosecution.