“Officers of the MIA of Russia GA for Economic Security and Combating the Corruption, together with the ES&CC officers of the MIA for the Republic of Buryatia and the MIA of Russia GA for the Novosibirsk Region, in cooperation with the Siberian Customs Directorate of the FCS of Russia prevented an attempt of smuggling a large batch of jade across the border of the Russian Federation,” reported the official representative of the MIA of Russia Irina Volk.

A 34-year-old citizen of one of the neighboring countries is suspected of the illegal activity, who, using fake shipping documents, tried to transport across the border of the Russian Federation jade worth more than 12 million rubles under the guise of building stone. During the inspection of a lorry on the border with the Republic of Kazakhstan, there was found and seized raw colored stone with a total weight of about three tons.

On the fact of attempted smuggling of strategically important resources on a large scale the General Investigation Administration of the MIA of Russia GA for the Novosibirsk Region instituted a criminal case under Article 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The complex of operational-search measures and investigative actions aimed at establishing the scheme for the sale of jade and additional episodes of the suspect's illegal activity continues.