Border guards have prevented an attempt to illegally export 620 saiga horns from Kazakhstan to China. The value of the seized batch on the black market is estimated at approximately 180 million tenge.
WHERE THE SAIGA HORNS WERE FOUND
According to the press service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NSC), on 20 October 2026, border service officers stopped the illegal export of saiga horns on the territory of the International Centre for Cross-Border Cooperation "Khorgos".
The batch was being smuggled into the People's Republic of China (PRC). In total, border guards seized 620 horns, the potential value of which on the black market is around 180 million tenge.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
The materials concerning the attempted illegal export have been handed over to the competent authority for a procedural decision.
The NSC did not specify who attempted to export the saiga horns, how many people were involved in the incident, or by what means the batch was being transported.
Other details are not being disclosed in accordance with Part 1 of Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Inadmissibility of disclosing the data of a pre-trial investigation").
CONTEXT
Since the beginning of 2026, law enforcement reports have featured two major incidents involving saiga horns — in total more than 2,200 horns and similar items.
The first — on 21 May in the Panfilov district of the Zhetisu region. As Kazinform reported, law enforcement officers detained six suspects and discovered more than 1,600 items resembling saiga horns, weighing over 500 kg. At the time, an alleged illegal sale was being investigated. The second — the current one, at "Khorgos": 620 horns which, according to the NSC, were being smuggled to China.
In parallel, the state has put up for sale 1 tonne of saiga horns with a starting price of more than 1.2 billion tenge. The sale is being handled by JSC "Zhasyl Damu", and the balance holder of the batch is RSE "Okhotzooprom". There is no information on any connection between the batches seized by law enforcement and state reserves.
