An illegal gold processing plant was shut down in the Akmola Region, where authorities seized nearly half a kilogram of gold, four tons of ore, and six kilograms of mercury, reports website infohub.kz.
Officers from the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA), with support from the Akmola Regional Prosecutor's Office, arrested a group of individuals involved in the illegal extraction of precious metals in the Shortandy District. During the operation, equipment for crushing and smelting ore was confiscated, along with a gold bar weighing 446 grams, four tons of gold-bearing material, six kg of mercury, and cash totaling over two million tenge and eight thousand US dollars. Additionally, firearms and ammunition were discovered.
Authorities are currently identifying all individuals involved in the illegal activity and calculating the volume of illegally extracted precious metals. The organizer has been taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing. The FMA noted that further information is not subject to disclosure in accordance with Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.