ASTANA. Dec 7 (Interfax) - A number of individuals suspected of involvement in stealing oil have been detained and several religious radicals who gave 'patronage' to the alleged thieves arrested in a special operation that was conducted in the city of Aktobe, the administrative capital of Kazakhstan's Aktobe region, and other regions of the country on Wednesday, the Kazakh National Security Committee press service said.
"As a result of investigative operations, we have detained a number of persons suspected of involvement in theft of oil. Road tank wagons with oil and oil products have been seized. In addition, we have arrested several members of a criminal group of followers of radical Salafism, who gave the so-called 'criminal' patronage to the persons involved in oil stealing," the Committee said in a communication published on Wednesday.