450 Meters Underground: Fuel Smuggling Tunnel Uncovered in Turkistan Region

Authorities have shut down a massive underground fuel smuggling operation along the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border, Orda.kz reports.

The scheme involved a 450-meter tunnel dug beneath the border in the Turkistan region. Over the course of two months, an international criminal group used it to smuggle petroleum products into Uzbekistan.

The operation was uncovered thanks to a joint effort by Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency, the National Security Committee, the Prosecutor’s Office, and Uzbek law enforcement.

The smugglers dug a 450-meter-long tunnel in the border area. In two months, they established a scheme for financing, logistics, and transit of fuel that was illegally transported across the border. During the investigation, five Kazakh nationals have been detained and several Uzbek accomplices identified, the FMA reported.

The case has now been referred to court.

This isn’t the first time underground smuggling tunnels have been discovered in the region.

Three years ago, authorities in Uzbekistan found another tunnel—this one running from a private home into Kyrgyzstan—used to illegally move over $1.5 million in cash. Those involved were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov