Not a punching bag: unusual drug trafficking method uncovered in Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz — A man in the Kostanay region has been sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking. He smuggled illicit substances from Almaty to Kostanay by hiding them inside sports equipment, expecting to be paid 500,000 tenge.
Drugs hidden inside a punching bag
The court established that in August 2026, the man contacted an unidentified individual online and offered his services as a drug courier.
After receiving instructions, he traveled to Almaty to acquire the drugs and transport them to Kostanay for a promised reward of 500,000 tenge.
On August 9, the man purchased narcotics packaged in three plastic bags.

"Following instructions from an individual unidentified by the investigation, the defendant, referred to as N., purchased a punching bag at an Almaty market to conceal and transport the drugs. After placing the packaged narcotics inside the punching bag, N. illegally transported them to the city of Kostanay, where he continued to store them for the purpose of distribution," the court stated.

The court's sentence
In court, the man partially pleaded guilty. He claimed that he had kept the drugs for personal use and had no intention of distributing them.
The state prosecutor requested a sentence of eight years in prison.
The court found the man guilty of the illegal acquisition, storage, and transportation of narcotics for distribution, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy on an especially large scale. The relevant article carries a penalty of seven to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. In sentencing, the court took into account that the defendant has a young child. No aggravating circumstances were identified.
Ultimately, the man was sentenced to seven years in prison, to be served in a medium-security correctional facility.
The sentence has not yet entered into legal force.