Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that, together with the National Security Committee (NSC), systematic work is being carried out to detect and confiscate stolen weapons, including those taken during the January events, according to Polisia.kz.
As stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Shyngys Alekeshev, during the mass riots, 2,960 units of service and civilian weapons were stolen. In almost half of the cases, the ownership of the weapons has been established.
"Over the past three years, thanks to operational activities, searches, and raids, about 8,000 units of firearms and traumatic weapons, 831 grenades, and more than 112,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers have been found and seized. A total of 722 weapon caches have also been discovered. To date, the ownership of 1,226 units of weapons stolen during the January events has been reliably established," Alekeshev said.
He also noted that the registration numbers of 6,765 seized firearms had been intentionally erased, and relevant expert examinations are being conducted to identify them.
The ministry reported that earlier this year, a weapons cache was found on the outskirts of Shymkent, near a cemetery, consisting of four smoothbore shotguns and ammunition, including those stolen from a weapons store in Almaty during the January events.
In the Kostanay region, three Kalashnikov assault rifles were seized from the basement of a house belonging to a local man with a criminal record. A criminal case has been opened regarding this incident. The suspect has been placed in a temporary detention facility.