Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an official statement on the case of Kazakh truck driver Ivan Chekulaev, who is standing trial in Georgia over a painkiller. The ministry confirmed that Kazakhstan's Embassy in Georgia is providing the citizen with consular and legal assistance, and that its staff are in contact with his relatives, infohub.kz reports.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the man was detained in April 2026 at the port of Poti. Consular staff have visited the citizen at his place of detention, attended court hearings, helped find a lawyer and remain in contact with his relatives.
The ministry stressed that diplomats will continue to provide the Kazakh citizen with consular and legal support.
Recall that 44-year-old Ivan Chekulaev worked as a truck driver and had set off for Georgia on another run. According to his wife, Yulia Chekulaeva, a search at the port of Poti turned up a painkiller that Georgia classifies as a psychotropic and narcotic substance.
The woman claims the medicine for her husband's back pain was prescribed by a doctor in Germany, but he did not have the prescription with him. The Kazakh now faces up to 15 years in prison.