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A high-profile trial is underway in Almaty, Kazakhstan, involving the transit of over 13 tons of cocaine. Two Turkish citizens are among the defendants, facing potential life imprisonment sentences. The case is being heard by a jury.

The Discovery of a Record Drug Bust

The operation began in September 2025 when the National Security Committee (KNB) announced the seizure of a staggering 13 tons and 183 kilograms of cocaine, the largest in Kazakhstan's history. This massive shipment was intended to transit through Kazakhstan to third countries, though its origin remains undisclosed.

Following the discovery, law enforcement apprehended two foreign nationals suspected of organizing the drug trafficking route.

To put the scale of the seizure into perspective, 13 tons of cocaine is roughly equivalent to the weight of nine Toyota Camry vehicles. Transporting such a quantity would have required over 25 cars if loaded into their trunks.

The estimated value of the confiscated cocaine is astronomical. Based on a March 2025 valuation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which placed 600 grams of cocaine at 100 million tenge, the seized shipment is valued at over two trillion tenge, approximately 2.197 trillion tenge.

Charges and Potential Penalties

The defendants, identified as Turkish citizens O.M. and Y.U., face charges under two articles of the Criminal Code. The specialized inter-district court for criminal cases in Almaty is presiding over this significant case, with a translator present to facilitate communication from Russian to Turkish.

The fate of the accused rests with a jury of 12 individuals.

Defendant's Account in Court

On April 17th, defendant O.M. addressed the court, asserting his innocence and claiming he was deceived by an old acquaintance. He stated he had been living in Almaty since 2022, working as a manager at a well-known Turkish restaurant, and had obtained residency in 2023. His wife is a Kazakhstani citizen, and their children attend a local school. The family had purchased a home and planned to settle permanently in the country.

According to O.M., the situation began in 2022 when an acquaintance named A. contacted him. A. claimed his wife had passed away and expressed a desire to move to Kazakhstan to leave his children with his mother-in-law. Using this as a pretext, A. allegedly asked O.M. for help in establishing a company to import goods from Turkey and other countries.

"A. asked me to open an LLC in my wife's name because she had citizenship. He said it would only be for a short time. We were practically begged, and in 2024, we agreed. I didn't want to take on such responsibility, but he pleaded for help, mentioning his children," O.M. told the jury.

Consequently, in 2024, an LLC named "Point Dis Ticaret" was registered in the name of the defendant's wife.

The Diffuser Incident and a Link to Heroin

Shortly after the company's registration, the defendant's family rented a warehouse where A. delivered the first batch of goods: diffusers in metal cans. O.M. confirmed seeing the merchandise.

"When the goods arrived, the boxes were torn, and the packaging was dirty and damaged. I documented everything and sent it to A., worrying about his business, fearing he might lose money on the first delivery. The goods sat in the warehouse for three months, and in the autumn of 2024, he informed me he had sold the diffusers to a logistics company," the defendant explained.

Notably, a witness, Z.L., the director of a transport company, had previously informed the court about a similar shipment of diffusers. German police reportedly found 450 kilograms of heroin in metal cans sent from Kazakhstan to Europe, as stated on the German customs website.

The defendant claimed that during the sorting process, he considered the boxes to be normal goods and was unaware they were "double-layered."

The truth emerged in February 2025 when representatives of the logistics company informed O.M. that their truck had been detained in Germany for "prohibited substances."

"I was shocked and believed we had been deceived. I immediately contacted A. and yelled at him for implicating me. He remained calm. He said it was impossible, as the goods had passed through more than 10 customs points and it was just a 'normal procedure for checking spray gases'," O.M. recalled.

According to the defendant, after becoming suspicious, he and his wife immediately consulted a lawyer and decided to sever all ties with A., refusing to sign off on the next shipment – the so-called "coconuts."

"Coconuts from the Dominican Republic"

The second incident involved A.'s intention to import marble and coconuts. "After the diffusers were sold, and before the news about the detained cargo in Germany broke, A. said he wanted to import marble and coconuts from Afghanistan. Later, he corrected himself, saying the coconuts would be from the Dominican Republic. He decided to import them via Russia, which seemed illogical to me. I asked, 'Why such complicated routes?' But he insisted," the defendant explained.

O.M. testified in court that he had never used drugs and was unaware of the slang meaning of the word "coconut." He maintained that he genuinely believed in the legality of the fruit business.

"I thought it was fruit. A coconut is a fruit. Perhaps I only understood when the judge mentioned that 'coconuts' meant 'cocaine.' I have never used drugs in my life, nor did I even know about them," he stated.

The defendant claims the shipment never occurred because, after learning about the drugs in the diffusers in February 2025, O.M. refused to cooperate further.

In February 2025, A.'s brother contacted O.M. During a meeting at a cafe, he revealed that A. had been arrested in Turkey and requested that cash be withdrawn from the company's account to convert it into cash to cover another firm's debt.

O.M. refused to participate in this scheme. A few days later, in mid-February 2025, he was arrested by KNB officers at the restaurant where he worked. At that time, he claims he learned that A. had been sending drugs to Kazakhstan via Europe.

The suspect maintains his innocence. The trial is ongoing, and Tengrinews.kz will continue to follow developments.

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