Kazakhstan court sentences man to 18 years for trafficking drugs from US

The Astana court has sentenced two drug dealers to 18 and 8 years in prison for illicit trafficking of drugs from the U.S. via a postal service, according to Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA). Two parcels the perpetrators received contained around a kilogram of cannabis and seven grams of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychotropic substance.

«Following the inspection with a detection dog held at a temporary storage warehouse in a customs control zone, about one kilogram of cannabis was discovered and seized. In addition, a pretrial investigation revealed another package addressed to the same recipients at one of Kazpost’s branch offices,» the agency said in a statement.

The drugs were concealed as various legal items. Authorities discovered more illegal drugs, weigh-scales and packaging materials during the search of one perpetrator’s residence.  

«The court has found two individuals guilty and sentenced them to 8 and 18 years of imprisonment in a medium security prison,» the agency added.

The FMA reported that 116 criminal cases related to smuggling and illegal drug trafficking have been initiated since the beginning of the year. The final substance weight reached 59 kilograms.

Furthermore, 1.7 kilograms of various psychotropic substances; 206,000 anabolic steroids and 1,680 pieces of the Tropicamide eye drops have been seized by Kazakhstani authorities.  

Last September, an Astana court sentenced two citizens to seven and eight years and four months in prison, respectively. They planned to sell illegal substances within Kazakhstan via the Telegram messenger, ordering a large batch of marijuana from the U.S. by mail.