On March 17, two underground tunnels were discovered in the city of Khanabad, Andijan region, leading to the village of Bekabad, Suzak district, Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan, the State Security Service of Uzbekistan reported.
A cross-border criminal group consisting of citizens of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan transported inventory through the tunnels, the report says.
Both tunnels have a depth of 20 m, a width of 70-80 cm and a height of 170-180 cm. The length of the first tunnel was 350 m, the second – 135 m.
During the operational activity, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan was first detained, who brought 16 bags with 813 mobile phones into Uzbekistan and tried to take 1,745 grams of gold bars and jewelry out of the country.
Further, during the event, the identities of his accomplices in the city of Andijan were established and 10 addresses belonging to them were checked. Mobile phones, tablets, laptops and their accessories were discovered there, delivered through the tunnels. Three homemade carts were used for transportation.
The group members had a total of 3,813 mobile phones of different brands, 50 tablets, 97 laptops and more than 1,000 accessories, as well as 1,745 grams of gold and jewelry. The total preliminary cost of these goods is 11 billion soums.
A criminal case has been initiated into this fact and a preliminary investigation has begun.
