Special prosecutors have concluded their investigations and submitted several major criminal cases linked to the fight against the online drug trade to the court.
The Prosecutor General, Berik Asylov, reported this on his account on social network X (formerly Twitter). According to him, one of the largest investigations was carried out in Shymkent, where the activities of an international drug network operating via Telegram were suppressed.
At the initiative of the prosecutor's office, employees of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) were included in the investigative and operational team.
It has become known that more than 300 people were involved in the criminal scheme. The turnover established from the transactions of just two defendants exceeded $7 million (3.5 billion tenge). Law enforcement officers detained 24 members of the network, including citizens of Russia, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Property worth more than 500 million tenge was seized from the defendants.
Criminal proceeds were channelled through bank cards of money mules and unlicensed crypto exchanges, with foreign nationals identified as the end recipients of the cryptocurrency.
Additionally, two drug laboratories were shut down in Shymkent. Authorities seized 6.1 kg of ready-made mephedrone, 330 grams of packaged drugs, 2.1 tonnes of precursors, as well as laboratory equipment.
Distribution and training of 'newcomers' was conducted via the Telegram channels 'Carbon', 'DDD_Shym', and others — some participants created their own channels but remained linked to the main network that controlled the turnover and supply of precursors.
Using similar schemes, police identified and suppressed criminal networks in other regions. Investigative and operational teams uncovered the activities of two sprawling online drug networks in the Mangystau Region and the Ulytau Region, which also used social media to sell synthetic drugs.
In the Ulytau Region, the operation of the Telegram store 'Kaef Mafia' was stopped. Six people were arrested, and over 3.2 billion tenge was recovered for the state, including digital assets, crypto wallets, and other valuables.
In the Mangystau Region, the activities of the drug store 'Dune-Operator 24/7' were suppressed. While attempting to deposit cash proceeds from drug sales into a bank, police seized 1.1 billion tenge and $176,000 (88.5 million tenge).
The court also placed a freeze on 1 billion tenge deposited into the account of an individual entrepreneur, and on a crypto wallet containing 734,228 USDT (369.9 million tenge).