The border service of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic reported the seizure of a consignment of tobacco products worth 4,775,000 soms (27,504,000 tenge) on the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border.
According to the press service of the department, a border patrol from the "Tokmok" outpost of the SCNS KR directorate in the Chuy Region discovered a Mercedes Benz Sprinter vehicle near the border, which was heading towards Kazakhstan.
After stopping the vehicle, two citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic were detained. They were attempting to illegally export to Kazakhstan 187 boxes of Oris and Oscar tobacco products without excise stamps.
The detained individuals and the cargo were handed over to relevant authorities for further investigation.
It should be recalled that earlier it was reported that due to cigarette smuggling in 2023, the state budget of Kazakhstan lost out on approximately 33 billion tenge.
In September 2024, officers of the AFM of the Mangistau Region uncovered a consignment of smuggled cigarettes from Turkmenistan, brought in bypassing customs control. The value of the confiscated 6.5 million packs of cigarettes was estimated at nearly 1.5 billion tenge.
Later, border guards intercepted attempts to illegally import cigarettes on the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border. The tobacco products were found in a refrigerated truck which, according to accompanying documents, was supposed to contain Bulgarian peppers. During the inspection, more than 180,000 packs of undeclared Oris, Parliament, and Zumerret brand cigarettes were seized.
In October, in the Aktobe Region, the illegal export of a large consignment of cigarettes from Kazakhstan was intercepted at the "Zhaissan" automobile checkpoint. On that occasion, more than 71,000 packs were attempted to be exported without accompanying documents, hidden under crates of vegetables.
In December, at the "Morport" customs post in the Mangistau Region, during the inspection of a container from Iran, a large consignment of smuggled Oris cigarettes was uncovered. The perpetrators tried to bring in more than 226,000 packs worth 85.9 million tenge disguised as rubbish bins.
In January of this year, the border service department of the KNB for the Zhambyl Region intercepted the illegal import of 170,000 packs of cigarettes into Kazakhstan. According to preliminary estimates, the value of the seized goods exceeds 50 million tenge.