6 kilograms of gold seized during major operation against criminal group

Tengrinews.kz – The Department for Combating Organized Crime of the police, together with the Prosecutor’s Office of Zhambyl Region, has dismantled a criminal group illegally mining gold at the Akbakai deposit, according to Polisia.kz.

The group included local residents, plant workers, and security personnel. Police uncovered the entire criminal chain — from illegal extraction and processing to the transportation of gold-containing raw materials. The damage caused to the enterprise by their actions exceeded 400 million tenge.

According to the authorities, the arrest of the organizer and his accomplices took place simultaneously across four regions of the country. Over 50 individuals were detained, around 6 kilograms of gold were seized, and 8 illegal ore processing workshops were shut down.

“The criminal case is being investigated under several articles, including charges of creating, leading, and participating in an organized criminal group. Work is ongoing to identify gold smuggling routes, other criminal shadow schemes, and the final beneficiaries,” said Kuandyk Alpys, representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Department for Combating Organized Crime.