The operation was carried out jointly by the State Security Service and a local department of the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The suspects, born in 1987 and 1993, are residents of Shofirkon district, Bukhara region. According to operational information, they had agreed to sell a buyer 212.9 grams of gold for UZS 340 million.
The two were detained while handing over a 26.3-gram gold bar with a purity of 999. They had received $20,000 from the buyer, equivalent to about UZS 240 million at the current exchange rate, as well as UZS 100 million. The suspects reportedly promised to deliver the remaining gold later.
A search of one suspect’s home uncovered an illegal workshop where gold-bearing sand was allegedly being processed to extract gold.
A criminal case has been opened under Article 177, Part 4, Clause “a” of the Criminal Code, which covers the illegal acquisition or sale of precious metals on an especially large scale.
