ATYRAU. Jan 12 (Interfax) - The Specialized Inter-District Criminal Justice Court of the Atyrau region has sentenced five members of a transnational gang on counts of trafficking Afghan citizens to EU countries across Kazakhstan and Russia.
The gang consisted of citizens of Kazakhstan, Russia and Afghanistan, yet only five gang members - four citizens of Kazakhstan and one of Russia - were identified and prosecuted, the court said.
The ringleader was sentenced to ten years in a penitentiary and property confiscation, and his three accomplices, among them a citizen of Russia, were given an eight-year sentence each. The fifth gang member will be imprisoned for three years.
According to the court, the transnational gang involving citizens of three countries operated in the period from October 2015 till March 2016. The gang smuggled Afghan citizens into EU countries via Kazakhstan and Russia, by the so-called 'northern route' across the Russian-Finnish border.
"The migrants were transported under a strict plan. The roles and duties of gang members were clearly defined. A taxi driver was hired to transport the migrants to the Kazakh-Russian border," the court said.