The Financial Monitoring Agency (AFM) has identified around 300 channels in messaging apps and 4 of the largest Darknet marketplaces where banned substances were being sold.
According to the agency's press service, the AFM identified 80 users of Telegram channels who were advertising and selling narcotic and psychotropic substances within the country.
"As a result of monitoring the Kazakh segment of the internet space, 3 large drug-selling platforms were identified, with a total of nearly 35,000 participants," the statement said.
Furthermore, the agency identified nearly 10,000 potential consumers of narcotic drugs. The analysis showed that more than 50% of consumers are located in Astana, Almaty, and the Almaty region.
Last year, the AFM identified 36 drug shops with a turnover of 25.6 billion tenge. This year, law enforcement identified 59 card accounts belonging to 60 drug platforms on the Telegram messenger.
The total cash turnover in these shops amounted to 3 billion tenge. Materials on one of them, with a turnover of 82 million tenge, were sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.