On 30 May 2026 Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, known as the KNB, working jointly with police, customs and the Central Asia Regional Information and Coordination Centre, stopped an attempted transfer of narcotic drugs through Almaty airport.[1] During a baggage check officers examined the luggage of a foreign woman who had arrived from one of the countries of Southeast Asia.[2] In that luggage they found about 21 kilograms of plant material resembling marijuana.[3]

Officers seized the prohibited load and detained the suspected woman.[2] Police opened a pre-trial investigation under part 1 of article 286 of the Criminal Code, as the committee’s press service reported.[3] That provision covers smuggling of items withdrawn from circulation or whose circulation is restricted.[4]

The committee said no other information could be disclosed under article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code.[3] According to the committee, officers carried out operational measures at the city airport on 30 May as part of the joint effort.[3]