“My brother has three children, his wife is ill”: Kazakh man detained in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges

Tengrinews.kz – Two men believed to be from Kazakhstan have been arrested in the United States in connection with the transportation of a large shipment of cocaine, according to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office in Texas.

The arrest took place on September 27, 2025, when the county’s Special Investigations Division, together with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), stopped a car hauler traveling along Interstate 10.

“Deputies deployed K-9 Sigma, and after a positive alert, uncovered 35 kilos of suspected cocaine hidden in the car hauler!,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Facebook.

The suspects were identified as Nursultan Mukhtarali of New York and Mukhit Danibekov of Pennsylvania. Both men were charged with possession of a controlled substance in a large quantity, a first-degree felony under Texas law, and placed in the Chambers County Jail.

Mukhit Danibekov’s older brother, Zhomart Danibekov, publicly claimed the men are innocent, saying they work as truck drivers and were unaware of the drugs hidden in one of the transported cars.

“They came to America to work honestly, not to suffer for someone else’s crime. My brother has three young daughters, and his wife is seriously ill. We are trying to raise money for bail and legal defense,” he wrote.

Bail for each of the detained men has been set at $200,000 (approximately 107.8 million tenge).

Tengrinews.kz has reached out to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for additional information regarding the case.