An employee of the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NGMK) in Uzbekistan has been criminally charged for attempting to steal gold-bearing pulp from the plant by soaking it into pieces of carpet. Kun.uz reviewed the court document.

According to the court verdict, 36-year-old Kh.O. worked as a mill operator in the crushing shop of the Central Mine Administration's processing plant No. 2. On March 20, he tried to remove pulp containing precious metals from the plant premises by soaking two pieces of carpet in it. However, his actions were discovered.

More than 4 kg of ore sand was extracted from the carpet pieces, containing 18.44 grams of gold worth 35 million soums and 4 grams of silver worth 120,000 soums.

Kh.O. pleaded guilty. In court, he testified: "On March 20, I came to work according to the schedule and went to the assigned mills. I opened the covers of the lower loading pipes of mill No. 29 and placed two pieces of carpet inside. At the end of my shift, I took out the carpet pieces and put them in a plastic bag. As I was carrying them out, security officers approached me. Seeing them, I threw the bag aside. The officers suspected something, opened the bag, and inspected it. After that, they informed the internal affairs officers."

Kh.O. asked the court for leniency, citing his difficult family and financial situation and that he was the sole breadwinner for his family.

The Tamdy District Criminal Court found Kh.O. guilty of an offense under Part 1 of Articles 25 and 169 (Theft) of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to a fine of 10 times the base calculation value (4.12 million soums).

Source: kun.uz