Tengrinews.kz - The capital's Department of the Financial Monitoring Agency has uncovered a case of drug smuggling from the United States disguised as parcels containing consumer goods.
According to the department, during an inspection with a detection dog at a temporary storage warehouse in the customs control zone, approximately 1 kilogram of hashish was discovered and seized.
"Monitoring conducted during the pre-trial investigation revealed another parcel at one of the city branches of Kazpost JSC addressed to the same recipients. It contained a potent psychotropic substance – tetrahydrocannabinol and its isomers, with a total weight of more than 7 grams," the FMA press service reported.
Additionally, a search of the apartment of one of the suspects uncovered narcotics, packaging materials, and scales.
"By court decision, two defendants in the case were found guilty and sentenced to 8 and 18 years of imprisonment, respectively, to be served in a medium-security penal colony," the agency reported.
Since the beginning of the year, FMA has registered 116 criminal cases related to drug smuggling and illegal drug trafficking. Seized items include 57.3 kilograms of narcotics, 1.7 kilograms of psychotropic substances, 206,000 units of anabolic steroids (a toxic substance), and 1,680 units of "Tropicamide" eye drops.
Earlier, two drug trafficking groups suspected of transporting and distributing large quantities of drugs have been detained in the Zhambyl region.
