In Almaty, a delivery courier grew suspicious while making a drop-off and refused to hand over a package to a minor recipient. He immediately alerted the police, reports infohub.kz.
Officers who arrived on the scene opened the package and found illegal e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing products inside. The teenager and the sender were taken to a police station. The Almaty Police Department stated: "The minor recipient and the sender have been taken to a police station. An investigation is underway to determine all the circumstances of the incident."
The courier explained that he became suspicious because of a special chat where delivery workers warn each other about possible schemes for transporting banned goods and advise not to ignore questionable shipments.
It should be recalled that Kazakhstan has a full legislative ban on the import, production, sale, and distribution of smokeless tobacco products, e-cigarettes (vapes), and any flavorings and liquids for them. Recently, the National Security Committee intercepted a major smuggling channel for vapes on the border with Russia. The estimated total value of the seized goods is around 500 million tenge.