Kazakhstan authorities have detained Karim Massimov, the former head of the national security committee, and some other officials on suspicion of treason, the security committee said on Saturday without providing further details.

"On January 6 of this year, the National Security Committee launched a pre-trial investigation into high treason, under article 175 of part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On the same day, on suspicion of committing this crime, the former chairman of the KNB Karim Massimov and others were detained and placed in a temporary detention center," the release said according to Russian media TASS news agency. 

Massimov had also served as the country's prime minister twice, from January 10, 2007 to September 24, 2012, and from April 2, 2014 to September 8, 2016.