A Tashkent province court has sentenced four men to prison for beating a Kazakh national and robbing him of 300 million soums near a border checkpoint.
The incident took place around 11:30 p.m. on October 10, 2025, near the Navoi border checkpoint in Tashkent district.
According to the investigation, the victim, identified as T.D., a Kazakh citizen, worked as a courier transporting cash from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan on behalf of clients, along with three or four associates. Because border crossing rules cap the amount of cash a single person may carry at 100 million soums, larger sums were split among the group members.
On October 9, 2025, an acquaintance identified as L.E. called T.D. and asked for help bringing cash out of Uzbekistan. T.D. agreed and crossed into Uzbekistan through the Qoplonbek border checkpoint at around 7 p.m., where he was met near the post by an associate and another man identified as U., driving a Chevrolet Gentra. While in the car, T.D. received 400 million soums packed into four plastic bags.
As he carried the bags on foot toward the border checkpoint, T.D. noticed two men following him. He tried to call his associates for help but could not reach them, since Kazakh mobile networks do not operate on Uzbek territory.
The attackers seized three of the four bags — a total of 300 million soums — and fled the scene. T.D. reached the checkpoint with the one remaining bag and alerted law enforcement.
The investigation found the attack was not random. Four residents of the same neighborhood — identified as A.M., Sh.J., F.S. and N.S. — had learned in advance that citizens frequently carried large sums of cash across the border into Kazakhstan and had planned to rob them. Under the plan, A.M. and Sh.J. were to keep watch while F.S. and N.S. carried out the assault.
The robbery was captured on surveillance cameras at a logistics center near the checkpoint. Footage showed a Chevrolet Spark pulling up behind T.D. after he got out of his car, with one man exiting the vehicle and another emerging from behind a tree to attack him. Investigators identified the suspects through the vehicle's license plate.
During a follow-up search, authorities found 211.5 million soums hidden in the bathroom ceiling of Sh.J.'s residence.
A.M., Sh.J. and N.S. pleaded not guilty in court. Sh.J. testified that A.M. had left 22 bundles of cash with him for safekeeping, telling him it belonged to "a client," and said he did not know where the money had come from. A.M., for his part, said the cash had been brought to him by F.S., who told him it was his own money. N.S. denied taking part in the attack on the victim and claimed his earlier statement to investigators had been made under pressure.
In court, the victim confirmed that the damages had been fully repaid and said he had no further claims against the defendants.
The Zangiota district criminal court found F.S., A.M., Sh.J. and N.S. guilty under Article 164, Part 4(a) of Uzbekistan's Criminal Code, which covers robbery. Applying Article 57 of the Criminal Code, the court sentenced each of them to eight years in prison.
In a separate case, a repeat violent offender was earlier sentenced to 15 years in prison in the Karmana district of Navoi province after breaking into a home, holding a knife to a young woman, binding her hands and feet, and stealing valuables.
Stay up to date with all the latest news:
