DUSHANBE, September 13, 2011, Asia-Plus — Since the beginning of this year, Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Service has warded off nine attempts of smuggling gasoline into Tajikistan, Kyrgyz media outlets report, referring to the National Security Service.
Gasoline has been smuggled into Tajikistan via Batken region. Five criminal proceedings have been instituted over fuel smuggling. The overall volume of the detained fuels is reportedly 461,000 liters for a total amount of 154.270 million som (equivalent to 3.4 million U.S. dollars).
We will recall that Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz Service reported n early September that two Kyrgyz officials have been detained on suspicion of involvement in the illegal export of gasoline to Tajikistan.
Kalybek Satybaldiyev, the chief of the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry”s Counter-Organized Crime Directorate, told RFE/RL on September 2 that Ulan Babayev of the Finance Police and Nuradil Toktosunov of the Tax Service were arrested in late August.
Satybaldiyev said the two officials abused their official positions and forged documentation to enable criminal groups to steal gasoline and export it to Tajikistan.
