A citizen of Kazakhstan has been extradited from Georgia on suspicion of large-scale synthetic drug trafficking and money laundering, according to Infohub.kz.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, officers from the supervisory body, together with Interpol of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and with the assistance of the Kazakh Embassy in Georgia, carried out the extradition of the Kazakh national, a member of an organized criminal group. The group was involved in the illegal trafficking of psychotropic substances and money laundering.
The investigation established that the suspect organized large-scale drug production in the Almaty region. The manufactured psychotropic substances were then distributed via stashes.
Nearly 10 kilograms of the psychotropic substance mephedrone were seized from the criminal group. The illicit income exceeding 1.8 billion tenge was laundered through various financial operations, including crypto exchanges. Additionally, they purchased real estate, business assets, and vehicles worth over 600 million tenge. These assets have been seized pending their forfeiture to the state.
The Prosecutor General's Office noted that some members of the criminal group have already been brought to court and their cases are under consideration. Other members, including the suspect, evaded investigation and were put on an international wanted list. In January this year, the suspect was detained in Georgia, and then extradited to Kazakhstan at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Currently, the man has been placed in a pre-trial detention facility. The charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison with confiscation of property.