EXPLOSIVES DID NOT REACH THE MUJAHIDEEN
In early December 1995, actions in the spirit of the most incredible thriller unfolded at the Almaty airport - Kazakh «green caps» thwarted an attempt to transfer weapons from Europe to a region where hostilities had not abated for decades. During an inspection by border guards of an aircraft en route from Bulgaria to Afghanistan in transit through Almaty, it turned out that the board was packed with deadly cargo. The plane, which, according to the documents, was supposed to carry agricultural equipment, had 39 tons of explosives. The transit board was supposed to land in Bishkek, for this reason the border guards did not intend to go aboard. However, thanks to the attentiveness and ingenuity of the senior border guard, Ensign Alexander Zharikov, the addressee did not get the weapon.
Warrant officer Alexander Zharikov, the senior of the shift controllers of the Almaty border control detachment, was not devoid of intuition as a good border guard. On that December day, an aircraft en route from Bulgaria to Afghanistan landed at Almaty airport. As Alexander Alekseyevich recalls, there were not enough officers, so he himself took up the design of the board. The door to the cargo compartment remained ajar, and either the instinct was to blame, or the control habit worked, the warrant officer looked closely and saw boxes of green color, they looked like they were military. As if by chance he asked the crew members what they were transporting. They answered, that it was the agricultural equipment.
The plane on its way to Afghanistan was supposed to land in Bishkek, but, ironically, the crew landed the aircraft in the capital of Kazakhstan. This also aroused suspicion. Having received an answer from the pilots, Warrant Officer Alexander Zharikov said nothing, but without wasting time, he reported on command. Arriving KNB officers climbed aboard and saw boxes with military-style markings, while agricultural equipment was listed in the accompanying documents. During the joint inspection of cargo on board the aircraft with the KNB RK employees, 39 tons of explosives were revealed.
- Being on the next duty on December 31, I saw how the unloading of the ill-fated board began, - Alexander Zharikov recalls. - At first, they intended to confiscate the plane, but apparently through some political channels the owners of the ship managed to return it home.
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In the same 1995, Warrant Officer Alexander Zharikov prevented the smuggling of Saker Falcons. On that day, the events unfolded according to the rules of the detective genre. According to the veteran, while processing the crew documents, he heard a bird screech. He gave the command to check the bags of the crew members. But what was the surprise of the border guards when it turned out that the «weaker sex» was involved in the case. The bag in which the tied birds were found, prepared for export outside the country, belonged to the flight attendant.
How urgent is the problem of catching and exporting Saker Falcons from Kazakhstan, can be judged by the reports of law enforcement agencies and the Border Guard Service, which annually encounter such facts, and even nowadays too. At the Almaty international airport, border guards often detain the people who are trying to smuggle them in.
In 2020, the Saker Falcon received the title of Bird of the Year, although birds such as the common flamingo and the black vulture claimed it. You can meet this bird of prey everywhere in Kazakhstan, but, according to experts, less and less. For a long time now, falcons have been poached. These birds are smuggled into Arab countries, where falconry is very popular. The cost of a bird can go up to 100-120 thousand dollars.
After Almaty, Ensign Alexander Zharikov served on the border with Uzbekistan, then in Kordai. In 2006 he retired with the military rank of captain.
Aleksandr Alekseyevich is now taking care of his grandchildren.
- I served the Motherland regularly, - says the veteran. - I had encouragements, certificates, gratitude. I was born here, my children grew up in Kazakhstan, and my grandchildren are growing up.
An experienced border guard can tell many more stories, he has seen a lot over the years of service in the border department. There were various difficulties in military everyday life: the unsettled life of the first years of formation, poor technical equipment, and insufficient experience. But all this was compensated by an ardent desire to serve the interests of the Motherland with dignity. Therefore, the border guards are on the alert day and night.