The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) has registered 4 criminal cases regarding the illegal sale of tobacco products in the Kostanay region.
According to the agency's press service, the seized cigarettes were valued at more than 168 million tenge.
"During the raids, it was discovered that cigarettes were being sold openly without identification means, and storage locations were also found on the territory of Kostanay city", the statement said.
It became known that more than 290 thousand packs of cigarettes were seized from circulation. Criminal cases against 4 suspects who carried out the illegal activity were sent to court.
"The court found these individuals guilty and imposed various penalties, including fines and restrictions on freedom. All seized products are subject to destruction", the FMA reported.
Recall, previously in Uralsk, more than 1.6 million packs of cigarettes with counterfeit excise stamps, valued at approximately 967.5 million tenge, were seized.
It was also reported that the FMA department for the Zhambyl region investigated a criminal case concerning an attempt to import from the Kyrgyz Republic two railway carriages of tobacco products worth over 1.3 billion tenge without excise stamps and accompanying documents.