Uzbek Security Forces Intercept Massive Jewelry Smuggling from Kyrgyzstan

Uzbek authorities have intercepted a shipment of gold jewelry valued at 5.7 billion soms ($456.014 million) that was illegally smuggled from Kyrgyzstan.

In an urgent operation aimed at combating the trafficking of valuable goods, officers from the Fergana Regional Department of the State Security Service, in cooperation with customs authorities, apprehended those involved, The Caspian Post reports via Kyrgyz media.

A 38-year-old resident of Fergana district received the shipment, which had been smuggled by a Kyrgyz citizen using bypass routes across the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan border. Both were detained while transferring the jewelry to a 28-year-old resident of Jalakuduk district, Andijan region.

The seized gold jewelry weighs a total of 5.706 kilograms, with an estimated market value of 5.746 billion soms ($459.694 million).

Pre-investigation procedures are currently underway concerning the detainees.