Four residents of the Abai region have been convicted of stealing high-value electronics from transit freight containers moving through Kazakhstan to Western European countries. The total material damage caused to the cargo owners amounted to 632.9 million tenge, the website infohub.kz reports.
Temirzhan Ramazanov, first deputy head of the Transport Police Department, said the thefts were carried out from containers on freight trains. During operational and search measures, officers identified and detained four residents of the Abai region who, according to the investigation, acted in prior conspiracy, repeatedly broke into the containers and stole laptops and gaming consoles.
"In particular, in May last year at Torpaldy station (Zhetisu region), 1,019 laptops were stolen from a container travelling on the China–Poland route. Some of the stolen equipment was later sold in Almaty. As a result of the theft, the companies that owned the cargo suffered material damage totalling 632.9 million tenge," Ramazanov said.
During the pre-trial investigation, transport police carried out the necessary investigative actions, including seizing part of the stolen equipment.
"By the verdict of the Alakol District Court (Zhetisu region), the four defendants were found guilty of theft committed on an especially large scale. They were sentenced to imprisonment for terms of up to 6 years and 7 months," the police colonel concluded.