BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 8
Trend:
A car with Armenian numbers and 50 mobile phones in the trunk was detained at a checkpoint in the Kazakh city of Uralsk, Khabar 24 TV channel said, Trend reports.
The driver of the car disobeyed demand of the police officers to open the trunk. During the search, the driver tried to escape, but the security forces prevented this attempt.
Besides, cartridges, a tear gas grenade, six tablets and smart watches (23 pieces), other gadgets and accessories were found in the car.
The checkpoints in Uralsk, as well as in other large cities of Kazakhstan, were set up in connection with the large-scale riots.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.