DUSHANBE, September 14, 2011, Asia-Plus – The head of Kyrgyzstan’s government Almazbek Atambayev considers that it is necessary to tighten control on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in connection with cases of smuggling of fuels into Tajikistan, KazTAG reports.
“We will displace regional governors. Today, we start with heads of regional sub-divisions of governmental bodies. Next time, we will consider the issue of displacing heads of ministries and departments. The border must be under lock and key. Today I put the question of displacing heads of customs, border, finance police and security agencies of the Batken region,” Atambayev stated at a meeting of the Council for Providing Security and Public Order under the Government on Kyrgyzstan on September 12.
Since the beginning of this year, Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Service has reportedly warded off nine attempts of smuggling gasoline into Tajikistan.
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.
