Authorities uncover 450-meter fuel smuggling tunnel on Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan border

A cross-border criminal group has been caught operating a 450-meter underground tunnel to illegally transport fuel between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, according to the press service of Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency.

Photo: Frame from the video

The smuggling operation took place in the Turkistan Region, near the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border. Authorities revealed that the group, made up of citizens from both countries, had been running the illegal fuel transfer scheme for two months.

The organized group constructed the tunnel and set up an elaborate network involving foreign financing, logistics, and transportation of petroleum products.

Law enforcement agencies from both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan identified all participants in the scheme, including Uzbek nationals and five Kazakh citizens.

The investigation has now been completed, and the case has been submitted to court.

A similar case was reported earlier this year, when a group was found to have built an illegal underground pipeline to smuggle AI-92 gasoline from Kazakhstan into Uzbekistan.