A sweeping series of nationwide raids was conducted across Uzbekistan by the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and "Uzenergoinpection". The coordinated operations targeted the illicit trafficking and hoarding of liquefied gas cylinders intended for household consumption.

Over the course of inspections carried out between October 19 and 21, authorities reportedly uncovered more than 120 legal violations. Most notably, in 39 of these instances, a direct involvement of gas supply company employees was allegedly established. Law enforcement officials seized over 3,000 gas cylinders and 13,636 kilograms of liquefied gas as material evidence from the underground market.

Specifically, in the Jizzakh region, authorities found 239 gas cylinders illegally stored for resale across nine separate locations. Investigators discovered that a former high-ranking official of the Zaamin district gas supply department had secretly hidden 152 cylinders at a relative's residence. Similar illicit operations were uncovered in the Syrdarya, Navoi, Fergana, and Samarkand regions, involving local engineers, locksmiths, and drivers.

In the Samarkand region, security operatives apprehended a security guard at an Urgut district gas filling station while he was allegedly attempting to sell three filled cylinders for 2.5 million soms. Comparable schemes of purchasing and reselling subsidized fuel at inflated prices were documented in Surkhandarya, Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, and Namangan, prompting authorities to urge citizens to report such abuses via the State Security Service's hotline.

Source: podrobno.uz