Officials Describe Child Trafficking Schemes and Investigation Methods in Kazakhstan

In 2025, authorities in Kazakhstan recorded 141 cases of human trafficking, including 19 involving minors. Among them were cases of parents selling their newborns to couples unable to have children for about 500,000 tenge.

Orda.kz examined how such schemes work and what drives people to take such steps.

How The Schemes Operate

Shynar Kucherbayeva, Deputy Head of the Department for Combating Human Trafficking, explained that all 19 cases this year involved newborns offered for adoption.

The scheme is that on one side are parents who can't have children, on the other are those who want to give up their children. And then there are the middlemen. Middlemen who find both parties involved, for their own selfish purposes, to make money, she said.

The child trafficking scheme has a clear structure with three main participants.

The scheme is that on one side are parents who can't have children, on the other are those who want to give up their children. And then there are the middlemen. Middlemen who find both parties involved, for their own selfish purposes, to make money.

According to Kucherbayeva, different categories of people commit such crimes:

Parents, some of them may not be able to provide for them, others can't and want to give them up. There are girls who came to the city, who didn't plan it, perhaps because of their financial situation, and they resort to such crimes. Among them, there are those with many children.

Around 500,000, a million, a million and a half. It doesn't say whether it's expensive or cheap. How can a person be a commodity? That's the question here. It's a crime. The seller and the buyer bear equal responsibility.

What happens to children after a crime is discovered is decided by the courts.

Kucherbayeva noted that no cases of children being taken outside of Kazakhstan have been recorded so far in 2025 — all identified schemes operate within the country.

How Cases are Identified

According to Kucherbayeva, police use online monitoring, hotlines, and tips from agencies and NGOs.

Some offers are openly posted online:

We conduct online monitoring. Secondly, we have hotlines. Thirdly, the police and special units are tasked with identifying and preventing such incidents. There is a law on operational investigative activities.

She added that the internet is often used:

Adilet Toktamysov, Head of the Public Interest Protection Department of the Prosecutor General's Office, confirmed that specialized online resources had been uncovered:

Yes, in a veiled way. As part of our work to combat human trafficking, we still need to develop a practice of determining when online advertising, and when, constitutes a free expression of will. There are experts for that.

The UN perspective

Serhan Aktoprak, Head of the International Organization for Migration in Kazakhstan, stressed the need for oversight and case-by-case analysis.

I think every case is unique. And each one should be examined individually and in detail, so we can look at the reasons, the position, and understand how it all happens, he said, adding that the government should regulate illegal practices where they exist.

Toktamysov emphasized the broader context:

This problem, of course, is not unique to Kazakhstan; it is a problem for all countries and law enforcement agencies. There are non-governmental organizations, and everyone is fighting this problem.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova