Fugitive Extradited to Kazakhstan After 20 Years on the Run

A man wanted for two decades in connection with a major organized drug trafficking ring has been extradited from Russia to Kazakhstan, Orda.kz reports.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the suspect was part of a criminal group that operated in the early 2000s, trafficking heroin and opium from Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan to Russia.

Investigators say he acted as a courier, storing and transferring narcotics to other members of the organization.

In the same year, special operations were carried out in the Qyzylorda and Qaraganda regions, during which members of the group were detained and 35 kg of heroin and 28 kg of opium were seized. The main defendants received prison terms, and the suspect himself managed to escape and was put on the international wanted list,
 the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

The man was located and detained in December last year in Russia’s Samara region.

He was recently extradited to Kazakhstan and is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center. He faces a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
 
Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina