Almaty, 29 October. Transport police detained four residents of Abai Region who repeatedly broke into containers on freight trains and stole laptops and game consoles; the damage to the companies that owned the cargo amounted to about 633 million tenge, Temirzhan Ramazanov, first deputy head of the transport police department, said.
In May last year 1,019 laptops were stolen from a container travelling from China to Poland at Torpaldy station in Zhetysu Region; they were later sold in Almaty.
The Alakol district court of Zhetysu Region found the four defendants guilty of theft on an especially large scale and sentenced them to prison terms of up to six years and seven months.
What it means: Thefts from transit containers hit Kazakhstan's main transport asset – its reputation as a reliable route between China and Europe.
What we know now: The verdict has been delivered; whether it has entered into force or been appealed has not been reported. The police do not name the owners of the cargo.
Background: Torpaldy station is in Alakol district of Zhetysu Region, on the railway leading to the Dostyk border crossing with China. It is not the first such case: in April 2025 transport police detained a group of six who had been stealing cargo from train containers on the international route since August 2024; the damage then exceeded 212 million tenge.
