The State Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have uncovered an illegal religious group in Tashkent, organized by an employee of the Customs Committee. Seventeen people had been gathering in one of the capital's teahouses for four years.

According to the investigation materials, people gathered in one of the capital's teahouses under the pretext of having dinner together, but in fact they studied illegal religious literature and held unofficial classes. The participants included three customs officers, a student of the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, deputy directors of a technology park and a private driving school.

According to preliminary information, the organizer of the meetings was the deputy head of the Customs Committee department. Since 2021, he had been holding regular religious classes, collecting money from participants and transferring it to mentors.

The training was also conducted online: lectures via Telegram were conducted by a 36-year-old man from Namangan, currently in Egypt. Offline classes were conducted by a student of the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.

A criminal case has been opened against four people who organized a religious community under Article 216 of the Criminal Code ("Creation of illegal public associations or religious organizations"). An investigation is underway.