BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities say they have launched a probe into the death while in custody of a notorious criminal boss who has been linked to another infamous kingpin for whom the United States has offered a $1 million reward.
A spokesman for the Prosecutor-General Office, Sirojiddin Kamolidinov, told RFE/RL on August 1 that Chyngyz Jumagulov -- known by his nickname of Giant Chyngyz -- was killed by a cellmate on July 30 in Detention Center No. 1 in Bishkek.
The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said earlier that Jumagulov was arrested on July 15.
The 41-year-old kingpin had a lengthy criminal record and had been linked to a larger criminal group led by notorious kingpin Kamchy Kolbaev, who also goes by the name Kolya Bishkeksky.
The 47-year-old Kolbaev was detained in October 2020 on suspicion of organizing a criminal group and participating in the activities of an organized criminal group, but was unexpectedly released in March 2021.
The U.S. Embassy in Bishkek expressed concerns over his release at the time and described Kolbaev as a “transnational organized crime boss” and a “convicted murderer whose criminal network engages in drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, and other dangerous criminal activity.”
In 2014, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Kolbaev's criminal network.