Employees of Dushanbe Airport detained

Two employees of the International Airport of Dushanbe have been detained in the capital on suspicion of smuggling gold to India.

This was reported by Radio Ozodi, citing its sources. The detained individuals are named Azamatullo Mahmadshoev and Olim Jalolov. So far, the authorities of Tajikistan have not commented on this report.

A source from Radio Ozodi stated that “in early September, they sent a shipment of gold from Dushanbe to Delhi through passengers, but during security checks at the Delhi airport, the passengers were detained. The transport prosecutor’s office investigated the incident and detained two airport employees.”

According to sources, “the transport prosecutor’s office has opened a case against Azamatullo Mahmadshoev and Olim Jalolov on charges of large-scale smuggling (part 2 of article 289) of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan.”

It is currently unknown whether the suspects agree with the charges or not. The opinions of relatives and their lawyers are also unavailable.

In 2021, the authorities of Tajikistan reported an operation to prevent the smuggling of several kilograms of gold. However, the head of the customs office of the Khatlon region stated that this gold and large sums of money were legally transported from the Panj Poyon border crossing to Dushanbe. However, the General Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on this incident.

Experts believe that the administrations of international airports in the country often allow the transportation of prohibited goods in exchange for bribes or through personal connections.