Staff from the Drug Crime Prevention Unit of the Karaganda Regional Police Department (PD), together with the Arlan special forces unit, have shut down a major illegal laboratory producing synthetic drugs. The operation was carried out with the assistance of the regional prosecutor's office as part of the large-scale special operation Karasora-2025.
According to the press service of the Karaganda Regional Police Department, the illegal production facility was discovered in the area of Severo-Zapadny settlement. During the operational activities, authorities seized around 6 tonnes of chemical substances used for drug production and 35 kg of ready-made psychotropic substance from illegal circulation.
According to law enforcement agencies, the amount of seized narcotic substance is equivalent to more than one million doses. It was this volume of lethal 'merchandise' that was planned for sale on the black market. The operation was part of a large-scale fight against drug crime in the region. Thanks to the coordinated actions of the security forces, it was possible to prevent a large batch of drugs from entering the shadow market and deal a significant blow to the criminal business.
It is worth recalling that from 1 June 2025, the operational and preventive operation Karasora-2025, aimed at curbing the cultivation, production and distribution of narcotic substances, was launched across the entire territory of Kazakhstan.
On the first day of the operation, in the village of Batpak, Osakarov district, Karaganda region, officers from the Drug Crime Prevention Unit, with the assistance of the regional prosecutor's office, shut down an illegal drug laboratory.
Two residents of Shakhtinsk, aged 24 and 25, were detained. They had purchased a private house worth 3 million tenge and set up drug production there. During a search, 121 canisters of chemical substances were seized, along with specialized equipment including a press and reactor, respirators and personal protective equipment. The total weight of the seized chemical substances amounted to around 2 tonnes.
Earlier, in the village of Asyl, law enforcement officers stopped the activities of a similar illegal production facility, seizing around 200 kg of drugs and professional equipment. Two residents of Almaty were detained — a 25-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman.
In May, in the village of Zhanakala, Bukhar-Zhyrau district, police officers, coordinated by the regional prosecutor's office, shut down an illegal production facility for the synthetic drug mephedrone. Around one tonne of chemical precursors and over 500 g of ready-made narcotic substance were seized. A 38-year-old resident of the Almaty region was detained, and a criminal case has been opened.