Police destroy hidden Zhambyl cannabis plantation and seize 438 kg
Police and National Guard officers destroyed a camouflaged Indian hemp plantation in the pre-desert zone of Zhambyl Region, seized 438 kg of marijuana and 50 two-metre bushes, and detained a 40-year-old Taraz resident. They also found a pistol, a shotgun and an SUV at the site.
Police and National Guard officers destroyed a camouflaged plantation of Indian hemp in the pre-desert zone of Zhambyl Region, the region’s police department said.[1][2]The plantation had an autonomous power supply and an irrigation system.[1][2]
Drones were used to find it.[1][2]Officers detained a 40-year-old resident of Taraz at the site; the department said he had several previous convictions and cultivated the plants for processing and wholesale sale outside the region.[1][2]
A search found 50 two-metre cannabis bushes, 438 kg of marijuana, packaging materials and agricultural equipment.[1][2]Officers also seized a Makarov pistol with ammunition and filed-off serial numbers, a 12-gauge Baikal shotgun and its ammunition, and an SUV used to carry the raw material.[1][2]
Criminal cases were opened under Articles 300 and 287 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, for illegal cultivation of drugs and illegal storage of weapons.[1][2]The suspect confessed and was placed in a temporary detention centre, and police said they were working to identify other people involved.[1][2]
The operation was part of Karasora-2026, a national operational and preventive campaign.[2]
Photos and video
A composite photograph published by 24KZ shows police and National Guard officers standing among cut cannabis bushes at the plantation in Zhambyl Region. Photo: Zhambyl Region police department via 24KZPhoto details
Police in Atameken village, Munaily District, stopped a 48-year-old man's Opel Vectra during the Qarasora and Kanal operations and found two packets holding about 2 kg 355 g of plant material thought to be marijuana. A criminal case was opened under article 297 and the suspect was placed in a temporary detention facility.
A court in Aktobe sentenced a 43-year-old man from the town of Shu to six years in prison for storing and selling marijuana, after he tried to sell 100 kilograms to an undercover KNB officer for 13 million tenge. In court he said he had found the bags beside the Aktobe-Atyrau highway and drove them into the city to pay off debts.
Kazakhstan's interior ministry said its first three months of Qarasora-2026 stopped more than 2,000 drug offences and four organised crime groups and kept 21 tonnes of drugs out of circulation, without giving a cannabis-only weight. Police recorded 256 cases of cultivating drug-bearing plants, destroyed dozens of plantations and shut 25 indoor growing laboratories.
Police mowed and seized 1.27 tonnes of un-dried wild cannabis in Balkhash District, Almaty Region, after a passenger stopped on the Bakanas–Topar road identified a collection site. Officers also detained the passenger and driver after finding 6.78 kilograms of un-dried marijuana in their car.
