SCNS detains suspects in smuggling of large batches of cigarettes

The State Committee for National Security (SCNS) and the Customs Service of Kyrgyzstan have detected a stable transnational group engaged in the economic smuggling of cigarettes into Osh region. The press center of the SCNS reported.

The stable criminal channel for the supply of large quantities of cigarettes was created in 2019 by three citizens with the initials O.Z.K., Z.S.A. and B.N.Y. under the patronage of A.A.M.

«The scheme consisted of first placing the imported cigarettes under arrest, then transferring them for safekeeping with subsequent removal, in fact theft, of the seized goods,» the SCNS explained.

During the investigation of the criminal case initiated under Article 231 (economic smuggling), it was revealed that members of the group sold the goods in Kazakhstan without paying customs duties.

According to the SCNS, damage amounted to over 42 million soms.