Kazakhstanis detained in US with large cocaine shipment: foreign ministry responds

Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commented on the detention in the United States of two Kazakh citizens with a large batch of cocaine.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s official representative, Erlan Zhetybayev, Kazakh diplomats are in contact with the detainees’ lawyers and families.

“Our diplomatic mission in the United States is in contact with both the lawyers and the relatives of the detainees and is providing all necessary consular and legal assistance. The investigation is ongoing; no further information is subject to disclosure,” Zhetybayev said.

What happened
In October 2025, two Kazakh citizens were detained in the United States on charges of transporting a large consignment of cocaine.
According to the sheriff’s office of Chambers County, Texas, the vehicle was stopped for inspection. During the search, law enforcement officers found about 35 kilograms of cocaine in the vehicle.
The suspects were identified as Nursultan Mukhtarali of New York and Mukhit Danibekov of Pennsylvania. Both men were charged with possession of a controlled substance in a large quantity, a first-degree felony under Texas law, and placed in the Chambers County Jail.
Mukhit Danibekov’s older brother, Zhomart Danibekov, publicly claimed the men are innocent, saying they work as truck drivers and were unaware of the drugs hidden in one of the transported cars.