In Kyzylorda, a group of poachers was detained with a large batch of saiga carcasses.
According to the press service of the Forestry and Wildlife Committee, during a raid, law enforcement officers detained three suspects in a Volkswagen Crafter vehicle.
The men did not comply with the demands of the police officers and attempted to evade pursuit in the courtyards, but were detained.
"During the inspection of the vehicle, 39 heads and butchered carcasses of animals, externally resembling saigas, were discovered. Subsequently, during a check of the detainees' connections, a search was carried out at one of the houses in Kyzylorda, where the following were discovered and seized: 84 cleaned animal carcasses resembling saigas, as well as hides", the statement says.
On suspicion of committing the crime, police detained another three local residents. Based on these facts, criminal cases have been initiated under Article 339 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Illegal handling of rare and endangered species of plants or animals, their parts or derivatives, as well as those prohibited for use".
As a reminder, in August last year, in the Ulytau region, armed poachers who were engaged in illegal saiga hunting were detained. The suspects were travelling on two motorcycles. The poachers were found to have 15 saiga carcasses, 29 sawn-off horns and two smoothbore shotguns.
In September, law enforcement officers stopped a car near the village of Karabutak. Inside the vehicle, bags of meat were found. The man behind the wheel stated that the bags contained the meat of five saigas, which he claimed to have hit with his motorcycle in the steppe on the territory of the Irgyz district. Preliminary damage was estimated at 20 million tenge.
In January of this year, two residents of the Kyzylorda region were convicted for hunting saigas. In the poachers' car, more than 30 carcasses and 5 saiga heads were found. The state suffered damage amounting to over 80 million tenge as a result of the illegal actions.