It was not Azhiev himself who rented the helicopter from the Ministry, but an anonymous renter who asked the pilot to land in the village of Baytik to pick up the released individual. The Ministry of Emergency Situations did not disclose details about the route and flight time, and the cost of the service was reported to be around 270,000 soms.
According to some sources, Nurlan Sarchayev, the deputy head of the Penal Enforcement Service, was near Azhiev at the time of his release; however, this information was denied by the State Penitentiary Service.
It is worth noting that Azhiev was pardoned by President Sadyr Japarov. Earlier, the head of the State National Security Committee, Kamchybek Tashiev, returned Azhiev's apartment to his wife and gifted her a car, as he stated that they had nothing left.
Azhiev was detained in June 2023 on suspicion of organizing web cam studios. He attempted to leave for the UAE through Uzbekistan and was caught in the neighboring country. A citizen, E. A., also approached the State National Security Committee, reporting extortion. He claimed that he worked as an operator in web cam studios and became a target of psychological pressure from an administrator demanding $2,000 under the threat of violence.
The investigating judge of the Pervomaisky Court of Bishkek later imposed a seizure of Azhiev's property for the purpose of confiscation for state revenue. As a result, apartments, houses, and cars worth a total of 262 million soms were confiscated, and Azhiev received a sentence of nine years in prison.
