Police officers in KazakhstanNUR-SULTAN, Feb 15Law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan detained six members of a criminal group who participated in looting in Alma-Ata, weapons and ammunition were confiscated from them, the press service of the national security committee of the republic reported. OPG «Kazakhstan», consisting of former athletes and previously convicted persons. The detained six members of the group are involved in numerous common crimes in the territory of the Almaty region (extortion, robbery, arbitrariness, hooliganism, criminal patronage of entrepreneurs, cattle theft),» the report says. During detentions and searches at the places of residence of the suspects, four firearms, 177 ammunition, seven grenades, special equipment, as well as items confirming participation in looting in January in Alma-Ata were seized. According to the press service, the detainees were placed in the investigation and insulator of the department of the committee of the penitentiary system and pre-trial detention center of the department of the KNB of Alma-Ata. Criminal cases filed.
The President of Kazakhstan honored the memory of the victims of the January riots «As a result of a complex of investigative and operational measures, the members of the group are inclined to issue caches with weapons belonging to members of the organized criminal group. Two caches were found in the Enbekshikazakh district of the Almaty region, of which 44 firearms and three edged weapons, as well as 20 ammunition,» the press service informs. Measures are being taken to identify the seized weapons, as well as their use during the January events. In early January, mass protests took place in Kazakhstan. In the first days of 2022, residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed the doubling of prices for liquefied gas. Later, the protests spread to other cities, including Alma-Ata, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. The authorities declared a state of emergency throughout the country until January 19 and carried out a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, during the protests in Kazakhstan, about 1,000 people were injured. According to the country's Prosecutor General's Office, 4,578 people were injured as a result of the riots, 225 people were killed, including 19 security officials. victim of international gangs
