Man suspected of organizing Akzharkyn Turlybay's trip to China detained

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM Sunkar Nurmagambetov, attorney of Akzharkyn Turlybay, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for drug smuggling in China in 2014, revealed a man suspected of organizing the Kazakh woman’s trip to this country had been detained, Kazinform correspondent reports.

«As per preliminary information, a citizen of Nigeria Adindo Nonso Fortune nicknamed «Jonny» was detained in the territory of another state. He is suspected of organizing Akzharkyn Turlybay’s trip to China in 2014,» Sunkar Nurmagambetov said.

The attorney reminded that in 2015 the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs launched a criminal case against the Nigerian man.

Earlier the Ministry of Justice of China informed that the Chinese side refused to extradite Akzharkyn Turlybay to Kazakhstan.

Akzharkyn Turlybay was detained at Guangzhou Airport in March 2014 for smuggling 4.5kg of drugs (amphetamine). She said she had come to China to buy branded clothes for sale. According to Turlybay, the drugs were planted on her by the people she met during her trip. The girl was sentenced to life imprisonment.

On April 7, 2016, the court of appeal determined to change the sentence and submit Turlybay’s case to the court of the first instance.

On November 2, 2016, the court of the first instance of Guangzhou reconsidered the case against Turlybay.

On December 27, 2017, the Guangzhou Court announced the life imprisonment sentence against the Kazakhstani woman remained unchanged.