ADDIS ABABA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia is working with the Kuwaiti government to free 39 nationals jailed in Kuwait accused of legal transgressions, an official said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, Meles Alem, Spokesperson of Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said some of the Ethiopians in Kuwaiti detention were inadvertent accomplices to criminal acts.

"Several detainees were asked by strangers to help with excess luggage when travelling from Ethiopia to Kuwait, but after checkup by Kuwaiti customs were found to have handled luggage stuffed with Khat," he further said.

Khat, a mild stimulant leaf, is grown and consumed across Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen by millions of people for recreational and job purposes.

But its banned in Kuwait where possession of Khat could land a person to a jail term of up to 10 years.

"We're trying to inform Kuwaiti government through our embassy in Kuwait City, over our nationals who became unintentional accomplices to a crime to secure their release," said Alem.

He further called on Ethiopian mass media to inform nationals travelling abroad on precautions that need to be taken when asked to handle "extra luggage" by strangers at airports.?