The Jomboy District Criminal Court in Samarkand region found 38-year-old M.B. and 37-year-old A.K. guilty of helping people illegally cross Uzbekistan’s state border.
M.B. travelled to Moscow for work in 2020 and worked as a taxi driver. In March 2021, he was arrested after 109 grams of heroin were found in his car. The Kashira District Court in Moscow Oblast subsequently sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
While serving his sentence, M.B. was offered early release in exchange for joining the Russian military and taking part in the war in Ukraine. He agreed, signed a contract in September 2024 and was sent to the front.
He was later injured in a mine explosion and taken to a military hospital in Donetsk. In December 2024, he left the hospital and attempted to return to Uzbekistan.
According to the case materials, M.B. initially hid at an acquaintance’s home before contacting a person who arranged for him to be smuggled from Russia to the Kazakh city of Saryagash for $1,800. He then crossed into Uzbekistan without documents, crawling beneath border fencing, and arrived in Jizzakh region.
A.K. was waiting for him there, the case materials say. The two men subsequently became involved in a scheme to help other people cross the state border illegally in exchange for payment, splitting the proceeds between themselves.
The documents also refer to several unidentified alleged accomplices known by the nicknames “Ded”, “Maqsad”, “Sunnat” and “Medved”.
In February, M.B. and A.K. allegedly agreed to arrange the illegal crossing of an Uzbek citizen, identified as B.Kh., into Kazakhstan for $2,000. The two were to meet the client in Samarkand and collect the money for organizing the crossing.
However, the citizen reported the plan to the regional department of the State Security Service. Operatives detained M.B. at the scene with physical evidence, according to the case materials.
A.K. was arrested later following another attempt to arrange an illegal border crossing for $2,000.
