The Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out operations to prevent and detect crimes related to the illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products.
According to Polisia.kz, over three days police seized more than 7 tonnes of alcohol-containing products without relevant documentation from illegal circulation. They confiscated around 160,000 packs of illegal cigarettes, over 26,000 vapes, roughly 34,000 cartridges for them, 35,000 oil cubes, and more than a thousand packs of snus.
Law enforcement officers initiated 17 pre-trial investigations, 18 administrative proceedings, and also sent 35 materials to the Agency for Financial Monitoring and the State Revenue Committee.
For example, in Pavlodar, police discovered a warehouse containing illegal electronic cigarettes, spare parts, and liquids for refilling them.
“3,500 vapes, around 10,000 spare parts for them, and 3,700 units of liquid intended for refilling cigarettes were seized. The 30-year-old owner of the goods was detained. The total value of the confiscated items amounted to 150 million tenge,” the statement said.
In the Almaty region, law enforcement authorities uncovered a case of illegal production and sale of alcohol products.
In an underground workshop, 2 tonnes 600 litres of alcohol, 500 litres of raw materials, 65 litres of finished products, and 60 litres of ethyl alcohol were seized from a local resident. In total, police confiscated 3 tonnes 225 litres of product.
“It should be noted that such confiscated excisable goods of dubious origin pose a serious threat to the life and health of citizens. The lack of certification and quality control significantly increases the risk of poisoning and other negative consequences. The work to eliminate illegal trade and the shadow production of alcohol and tobacco products continues,” said a representative of the Department for Combating Organised Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kuandyk Alpys.
Recall that in March, the specialised administrative court of Taraz ordered the confiscation of alcohol products worth 110.2 million tenge from ASCO Pro LLP. However, the former head of the enterprise decided to keep the confiscated goods for himself. As a result, Court No. 2 of Taraz found him guilty and sentenced him to 1 year and 3 months in prison.
In August, in Shymkent, an underground workshop for producing counterfeit alcohol was uncovered. A local resident used the brands “Absolut”, “Zelenaya Marka”, “Aidaboulskaya”, “Qulan”, and others to sell counterfeit products.