A specialized interdistrict criminal court in Shymkent held an open hearing into a crime committed 23 years ago and sentenced a man to 13 years in prison, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the official Telegram channel of Shymkent courts, the defendant was accused of participating in an organized group created to commit one or more crimes, as well as repeatedly acquiring, storing, transporting or selling narcotics as part of a group by prior conspiracy — under Part 3 of Article 235 and points "a" and "b" of Part 4 of Article 259 of the Criminal Code as amended in 1997.
The court found that in August 2003 the man began maintaining stable ties with international organized criminal groups engaged in wholesale purchases of narcotics and their sale to other states.
In early October 2003, carrying out his assigned functions in the criminal community, he received an order from the group's leader to sell a particularly large amount of heroin.
On November 20, 2003, together with an accomplice, he left Shymkent heading toward Aktobe.
On November 22, 2003, on the Shymkent–Samara highway near Aralsk, a car carrying the defendant was stopped. During an inspection of the vehicle, 35 packages of a powdery substance — specifically heroin in a particularly large amount with a total weight of 34,047.41 grams — were seized from the fuel tank.
The defendant then went into international wanted status and was detained in 2024 in Russia, and in 2025 was brought to Kazakhstan.
Although the man did not admit guilt, it was fully proven by witness testimony, audio recordings, expert conclusions, and other case materials examined during the main trial.
The defendant asked to be acquitted.
The court found no circumstances mitigating or aggravating the defendant's criminal liability and punishment in the case. The court found the defendant guilty of the charges and imposed a final sentence of 13 years in prison.
The verdict has entered into legal force.