Jewelry store chain owner detained for smuggling

She is accused of illegally importing jewelry and precious items on a large scale.

Photo: Internet

Gulnora Tursunbaeva, known by the nickname “Gulya,” the owner of the jewelry store chain “Jilo” in the capital of Tajikistan, was detained on the morning of January 24 at Dushanbe airport upon arrival from Istanbul on charges of smuggling 12 kg of gold jewelry. This was reported by the portal “Bomdod,” citing its sources.

It is reported that she was detained as she was about to get into a car in the airport parking lot. A search of her luggage revealed 12 kg of gold items worth over 600 thousand dollars. Gulya is accused of smuggling a large batch of jewelry into the country without customs declaration. Two customs officials at Dushanbe airport are also suspected of being accomplices in the smuggling of the large batch of jewelry.

“She had influential patrons behind her, which is why she often imported her goods without customs declaration. This created unfair competition in the market. Other businessmen, who import their goods honestly, paying all customs and tax fees, could not compete with those who, like ‘Gulya,’ brought goods in through smuggling,” sources reported.