A large-scale, multi-stage special operation conducted by Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry together with the National Security Committee (KNB) and foreign counterparts has shut down a transnational organized criminal group. Arrests of gang members took place simultaneously across three countries, reports infohub.kz.
The impetus for stepped-up joint work by the security services of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan came from official visits by Kazakhstani delegations led by the interior minister. Operational communication channels helped solve the murder of Kazakhstani citizen Ismailov, who was shot dead in Istanbul.
During the investigation, police from the three countries quickly arrested two perpetrators of the murder, established the motive, as well as the organizer and mastermind. The gang's leaders are representatives of the transnational criminal underworld and are currently on the international wanted list.
Information obtained during this investigation helped law enforcement uncover a chain of other serious crimes inside Kazakhstan. It turned out the group was led by a crime boss who is currently serving a sentence in a U.S. prison for the attempted murder of a journalist.
In the southern capital, operatives neutralized the group's armed wing, which had been trying to influence the business of certain diaspora groups. "In Almaty, a group of individuals from the said criminal structure was detained, charged with involvement in several armed attacks," said Kuandyk Alpys, a representative of the Interior Ministry's Department for Combating Organized Crime.
Among those detained in Almaty was a hitman who attempted to murder a local resident in August 2025. The weapon used—a pistol—was seized. The investigation into this case has been completed, and materials have been forwarded to court. Concurrently, new suspects linked to the organized crime group were arrested in Georgia.
The Interior Ministry emphasized that dismantling the group allowed the complete closure of channels of criminal influence from abroad. Police continue gathering evidence and working to bring the gang's organizer to justice.