Anti-Extortion Efforts Continue in Talgar as LGBTQ+ Individuals Targeted

Law enforcement operations against extortion groups continue in Talgar, with recent arrests highlighting serious crimes, including a minor's abduction and blackmail targeting LGBTQ+ individuals, reports Orda.kz.

Recent Arrests in Talgar

On February 8, in Qyzyl-Qairat in the Talgar district, individuals allegedly abducted a minor and demanded five million tenge from his mother as ransom.

By February 19, authorities reported detaining suspects while transferring 500,000 tenge.

 According to the official statement:

A 42-year-old resident of Miyaly village reported that on February 8 in Qyzyl-Qairat village, individuals forcibly placed her minor son in a vehicle and took him to an undisclosed location. The perpetrators allegedly threatened the teenager with physical harm and demanded 5 million tenge

A week earlier, authorities detained another group in Talgar that reportedly lured victims through social networks.

The alleged organizer was 19 years old, with a 17-year-old girl reportedly playing a key role by initiating online contact with potential victims and arranging meetings.

These encounters reportedly began casually before being interrupted by individuals.

LGBTQ+ Targeting

An Orda.kz correspondent spoke with one alleged victim of extortion. For safety reasons, their name has been changed.

According to Rinat's account, the perpetrators allegedly:

• Identified LGBTQ+ individuals through VK dating groups
• Initiated conversations and arranged meetings in isolated locations
• Had additional individuals join who reportedly intimidated and blackmailed victims, threatening to expose their sexual orientation
• Allegedly attempted to extract information about other LGBTQ+ individuals in Talgar

Personal Account

Rinat described meeting someone through a VK group in December. After initial hesitation, he agreed to meet. Upon entering the person's car, Rinat noticed another vehicle following them.

After a while we stopped, three people got out of the car following us, opened the door and ordered me to get out, Rinat says.

 He says they took his phone and demanded his passkey, asking if he knew other LGBTQ+ individuals.

According to Rinat, they demanded 1,000,000 tenge, threatened to involve police, and allegedly attempted to force him to take out a loan. When unsuccessful, Rinat claims one individual threatened him with a knife and compelled him to make a video about his orientation.

They went into my VKontakte account and wanted to make me write to other LGBTQ+ individuals so that I would set up meetings to catch them. Then they demanded I pay them 50-100 thousand tenge a month so that they would leave me alone. One of them said that if I didn't do this, they would post my photos and videos on the Internet, and also send the videos to my relatives and the police department,  Rinat shared.

The perpetrators allegedly demanded that either he help them identify other LGBTQ+ individuals or pay money monthly until reaching a total of one million tenge. After recording all his relatives' phone numbers, they returned his phone and left him near a parking lot.

Rinat recorded the vehicle's license plate and reported the incident to police, but later withdrew his statement, fearing publicity.

However, the incident led him to disclose his orientation to some family members.

This situation became a reason to come out. My mother was generally accepting, but my brother distanced himself. To be honest, I have constant anxiety, I'm afraid that they might be watching me, he says.

Recently, police contacted Rinat requesting he refile his statement after discovering evidence during another investigation — specifically, a recording of Rinat's forced confession was found with a suspect detained for the child abduction case. 

Since other alleged perpetrators may remain at large, Rinat filed a new statement.

Original Author: Yegor Grozny