Tengrinews.kz - Police in the Almaty region have shut down what they say is the largest drug laboratory ever discovered in Kazakhstan, according to regional police.
The lab was located in the Talgar district, hidden on the grounds of a farming property. Synthetic drugs were being produced there on an industrial scale.
The operation was carried out by the anti-narcotics division, with support from special forces and the regional prosecutor's office. During a search, officers seized 100 kilograms of finished synthetic drugs and over 8 tonnes of chemical precursors used in their production.
“Police prevented the illegal distribution of more than 200,000 single doses with a market value exceeding 3 billion tenge,” said regional police chief Meiram Abikeev.
The investigation is ongoing. In Kazakhstan, the production and distribution of drugs is punishable by up to life imprisonment.
Earlier, Kazakhstan's National Security Committee, in coordination with law enforcement agencies and foreign intelligence services, dismantled an international drug trafficking channel supplying narcotics to East Asian countries.