As reported by "Diapazon", a 33-year-old resident of Astana named Nurlan arrived in Aktobe in his Opel Omega and began working as a taxi driver. At the same time, he decided to delve into criminal activities.
After purchasing construction work attire, a helmet, an angle grinder, and work gloves, he started looking for substations where it would be easier to steal a transformer. One such location was found near house No. 16 in the Eset Batyr residential area. After completing all necessary preparations, he hired special transport through a website and moved the stolen transformer to a temporary storage area at a parking lot in the same residential neighborhood. The driver of the special vehicle was completely unaware that he was involved in a theft. The transformer belonged to the municipal housing and utilities department, and its value was estimated at just over two million tenge.
Using the same scheme of dressing as a construction worker and employing special vehicles, he successfully stole four more transformers from substations in the Altyn Orda microdistrict. In some cases, he was not alone in his endeavors. At the railway station, he met a newcomer from the village of Akkol in the North Kazakhstan region and invited him to join in stealing transformers.
They were quite successful in their operations. Later, the transformers stolen from the Aktobe substations were found in a truck heading to Bishkek. The driver explained that he had no idea they were stolen; he had simply accepted an order to deliver the cargo from Aktobe to the neighboring republic. Instead of earning money, he had to transport the stolen goods back to Aktobe.
Thus, both thieves found themselves in the dock. Nurlan complained that he turned to crime because he had come to Aktobe for work but couldn't find a job, while his 22-year-old accomplice Oleg pleaded not to be deprived of his freedom and asked for compassion for his mother, who is raising his siblings alone.
Before the sentencing, the damages were compensated to all victims. The court sentenced the organizer of the theft to four years of imprisonment. His accomplice remained free. The court took into account that he participated in only three episodes and sentenced him to four years of restricted freedom. His compliance with the punishment while remaining free will be monitored by the probation service. The verdict has not yet come into force.
Residents of the Zhanakonyss-4 residential area are requesting the city authorities to initiate public transportation to their area.