The largest cocaine haul in Kazakhstan's history was seized in Almaty.

The National Security Committee of Kazakhstan has disrupted an international drug smuggling ring and seized the largest cocaine shipment in the country's history, the agency's press service reported.

According to the National Security Committee, more than 13 tons of cocaine—13 tons, 183 kilograms—were discovered and seized in Almaty. The drugs were intended to be transported through Kazakhstan to third countries.

To put it into perspective, the committee noted that this amount of cocaine is comparable to the weight of nine Toyota Camrys. Transporting the entire seized cargo would require more than 25 cars of this model.

The exact value of the shipment has not been disclosed, however, based on the estimate provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan in March 2025 (600 grams of cocaine – about 100 million tenge), the market value of the seized drugs could exceed 2 trillion tenge (approximately 2 trillion 197 billion tenge).

Two foreign citizens have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a drug trafficking network. They have been remanded in custody. A pre-trial investigation is underway under Part 3 of Article 297 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan ("Illegal trafficking of narcotics on an especially large scale").

The National Security Committee emphasized that additional information is not subject to disclosure in accordance with the law.

Furthermore, Kuandyk Alzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Committee for Combating Drug Trafficking, reported on measures to de-anonymize users purchasing drugs online and through messaging apps. He stated that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is cooperating with telecom operators and has mechanisms in place to disclose anonymous numbers. "All drug buyers are under our surveillance," he noted.

Separately, it was reported that a 31-year-old rap artist was detained in Aktobe. According to police, he was driving under the influence of drugs. A personal search revealed a package containing a powdered substance, which was found to be a synthetic drug.