SEARCH BEYOND THE BORDER LINE
- Are you sure you can handle it? - the Head of the Zharkent border detachment, Colonel R. Kusainov, was interested in warrant officer Tokanov with alarm in his voice. - At stake is the honor not only of our detachment, but of the whole of Kazakhstan.
The dog handler, a little thoughtful, turned his gaze to his pet. Alvin, in anticipation of another chase, tore the reins in the direction of the PCB. Amanzhol understood all the responsibility that fell on their border tandem. There was still a chance to give up the idea, but something in the depths of his soul told him that they would succeed
- We will not let you down, mister colonel! - the dog handler answered firmly and relaxed the reins of the service dog, which immediately followed only her visible trail of the intruder.
On March 1, exactly at 21.00, a trigger signal was received at the Khorgos frontier post. An alarming group headed by the foreman of the con-tract service Amanzhol Tokanov moved to the scene
When checking the triggered and adjacent sections of the signaling complex, a sign of violation of the state border was found - the break of several threads. At the same time, no traces were found on the control strip. Fresh traces of one person were found behind the system, and they led from the line of the state border towards the neighboring state - the People’s Republic of China.
The initial search did not give any results, and the Head of the Zhar-kent border detachment, Colonel R. Kussayinov decided to continue the border search on the territory of the neighboring state. There was no such practice in the history of the Border Guard Service of Kazakhstan or the Soviet Union.
To implement this daring plan, negotiations were held both with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and with officers of the border guard of the People’s Republic of China. While all the issues were settled, 14 hours have passed. According to the approved standards, the effectiveness of launching a search dog in hot pur-suit is 2-3 hours. After 4 hours, the trail cools down.
Sergeant Major Tokanov was destined to go in search. He and his service dog, Alvin, set to work beyond the engineering and border lines. For-eign colleagues of Amanzhol reacted to his actions with suspicion: the time, elapsed since the violation, as well as the folds of the terrain (rocky soil) did not give cause for optimism.
The question was posed as follows - if the service dog confidently follows the trail of 500 meters and there is evidence that it is not mistaken, and then the search will continue. If not, then no, as they say, and there is no trial. When parting on the Kazakh side, the unit commander admonished Sergeant Major Tokanov that, having crossed the line, he takes responsibility not only for himself, but also for the border detachment and, in the end, for the whole of Kazakhstan.
- Do not let me down, Chief, come back with a victory!
***
The search dog covered 500 meters with a bang. And although the Chinese officers still had doubts, no one tried to interfere with our serviceman in his actions.
After a while, the dog took the dog handler to a small village. Local residents regarded the armed delegation led by our border guard with distrust.
After a while, Alvin approached one of the houses and gave a voice, which was a signal for the foreman and those accompanying him - the violator of the state border is located here. Imagine the attacker’s surprise when he saw a Kazakh border guard with a shepherd dog at the door.
The investigation showed that the detainee had indeed illegally crossed the border in this area.
The service dog instructor returned home in triumph.
***
Ensign Amanzhol Tokanov is a well-known person in the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For many years he has been educating and training dog handlers at the Border Administration for the Panfilov District. At one time he participated in regional republican and international competitions of military search groups. Now he passed this baton to his pupils. Zharken’s victories were at all levels, which is undoubtedly the merit of Amanzhol Tokanov.
On account of Amanzhol and his faithful four-legged colleagues, dozens of detained violators of the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan have been detained. In 2004, Sergeant Major Tokanov became the «Best Border Guard of the Year» and a holder of a departmental medal awarded to him by the Director of the Border Guard Service.
Today this extraordinary event has already become historical for the Border Guard Service of the KNB. Consider the first detention of an offender outside the state. Both his colleagues and his family are proud of the hero - his wife, son and two daughters.
Ensign Tokanov, who once chose urgent and then contract service in the Border Troops of our country, chose the right path and honestly walks along it and through life.