MOSCOW, October 16 (RIA Novosti) — Prosecutors in Kazakhstan have launched a criminal case against one of the nation's most senior diplomats in Germany, whose arrest there on charges of cigarettes smuggling was branded by the foreign minister as a “shame” to his country, Newskaz.ru reported Wednesday.
German’s Bild newspaper reported earlier that Kazakhstan's Consul-General Akhat Alpysbayev and several other Kazakhstan diplomats were arrested by German police in Frankfurt am Main in late August on charges of cigarettes smuggling.
“The most recent shameful sign is the case involving our diplomats working for the Consulate General in Frankfurt,” Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov said. “There was a small group, which smuggled cigarettes to Germany for a long time.”
Kazakhstan's law enforcers closely cooperated with their colleagues in Germany during the investigation of the case, Idrisov added.
According to CigarettePrices.net website, an average pack of cigarettes in Germany costs $6.70, while in Kazakhstan an average pack sells for just $1.10.
