Customs officers at the Kuryk post prevented an attempt to illegally import a batch of jewelry into Kazakhstan. This was reported by the State Revenue Department of Mangystau Region. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The incident occurred during the entry processing of passengers of the sea vessel "Zarifa Aliyeva." The attention of customs officers was drawn to a female citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan born in 1964, who was walking. After passing through the passport control zone, the woman sharply slowed her pace and kept her hand on her stomach, which prompted an in-depth inspection.
"Customs officers, together with the border service, the Department of Economic Investigations, and the transport prosecutor's office, conducted a personal search. The result was shocking. 34 jewelry items were found and seized from the woman's genital organ," the statement said.
The inventory of seized property included: 15 sets (earrings and rings); 7 rings; 5 round yellow bracelets; 3 earrings; 2 standard bracelets; 1 white bracelet; 1 chain.
Representatives of the State Revenue Department for Mangystau Region remind that concealing goods in the human body is one of the most dangerous and crude methods of violating customs rules. Such actions entail strict administrative and criminal liability. Control services continue to work in an enhanced mode to prevent any attempts of illegal movement of undeclared assets across the state border.
Illegal transportation of jewelry in Kazakhstan entails administrative or criminal liability with mandatory confiscation of the goods. If smuggling is committed across the border and the value of the items does not exceed a large amount (up to 20,000 MCI), the violator faces a fine under Articles 545 or 551 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. When transporting and trading suspicious jewelry without documents within the country, the case is immediately qualified under Article 295-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where the maximum penalty is up to 7 years of imprisonment.
If the value of the jewelry seized at the border exceeds a large amount (over 20,000 MCI), criminal liability arises under Article 234 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Economic smuggling"). Depending on the volume of the batch and the presence of conspiracy, the violator faces a fine of up to 3,000 MCI, restriction of freedom, or actual imprisonment for 3 to 8 years with confiscation of property. All illegally imported precious items are in all cases confiscated to the state revenue.