An attempt to smuggle gold bars worth 40.5 million KGS was thwarted in Kyrgyzstan

The State Committee for National Security reported that it had thwarted an attempt to illegally export gold bars weighing a total of 3.3 kilograms. The agency estimated their value at 40 million 512.5 KGS.

On September 24, two Kyrgyz citizens were detained: the alleged organizer, born in 1970, and the transporter, born in 2000. Both have been placed in a temporary detention facility.

A criminal case has been opened under Part 4 of Article 231 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic—“Economic Smuggling.” This part of the article pertains to acts committed by an organized group—including a cross-border group—or as part of a criminal organization. It provides for imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with confiscation of property.

Investigators are establishing all the circumstances of the case and examining the possible involvement of other individuals in the illegal trafficking of precious metals.