Three held in Astara and Qaradağ with 43.3 kg of marijuana
Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry said its drug enforcement directorate arrested three previously convicted men, Ali Mamedov, Ravan Huseynov and Ilkin Akhmedov, in Astara and Qaradağ districts and seized 43 kg 300 g of marijuana from them. A court ordered the three held in pre-trial detention and a criminal case was opened.
Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry Drug Enforcement Main Directorate arrested three
previously convicted men, Ali Mamedov, Ravan Huseynov and Ilkin Akhmedov, during
operations in Astara and Qaradağ districts.[1]The ministry said the three men
had been convicted earlier of premeditated murder and of theft.[2]
Officers seized43 kg300 g of marijuana with harmful substances added to it
from the three men.[3]According to the ministry, the men had entered a
criminal conspiracy with Iranian citizens whose identities investigators were
still establishing.[2]The ministry said the three obtained the drugs in
border districts and planned to place them at various addresses in Azerbaijan
for later sale.[1]
A criminal case was opened over the findings.[2]A court ordered all three
detained men held in pre-trial detention.[2]
Photos and video
Lead picture used with the report of the 43 kg 300 g marijuana seizure in Astara and Qaradağ districts; the page gives no credit, so what it shows beyond the article's subject is not established. Photo: Media.azPhoto details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
3
Cannabis
43.3 kg
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (43.3 kg)
Setting
Vehicle
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
APAapa.azAZNarkotiklə bağlı 3 nəfər tutulub, 43 kq marixuana aşkarlanıb- VİDEO
Report.azreport.azRUГлавное управление провело операцию: изъято 43 кг наркотиков
Media.azmedia.azRUВ Азербайджане изъяты свыше 43 кг марихуаны: пресечена деятельность преступной группы
Open questions the AI reported
The Interior Ministry statement gives no separate date for the arrests; 3 April 2026 is the date of the statement and of all three reports.
The statement does not say how much of the seized material each of the three men held, or what the added harmful substances were.
Azerbaijani outlets give the second man's first name as Rəvan while the Russian-language texts call him Раван (Ravan); his surname is spelled Гусейнов (Huseynov).
No charge list or court outcome was reported; only pre-trial detention was ordered.
The men are named in full by the ministry, but it gave no ages, home towns or the specific place in each district where they were detained.
All opened articles reproduce the same Interior Ministry statement, so there is only one primary account of the event.
The Media.az lead picture carries no credit and a caption identical to the headline, so it is not established to show the seized marijuana rather than an illustration.
The APA report is headed as carrying video, but no playable video address could be recovered, so no video entry is included.
The statement does not say what charges the men could face or whether the Iranian citizens named as suppliers were arrested.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Media.az: Media.az reported that the group was engaged in smuggling drugs into the country.
Azerbaijan's State Security Service detained two Azerbaijani citizens as they collected a drone-delivered drug consignment near the Jabrayil refugee settlement in Bilasuvar District, and said it seized 14 kg 158 g of marijuana from them. The service said an Iranian national organised the smuggling run, and a criminal case was opened.
Between January and September 2026 Azerbaijan seized 8.4 tonnes of drugs, including 7,236 kg of marijuana, 253 kg of hashish and 21,355 cannabis plants, the State Commission reported. Police detected 6,247 drug cases and held 4,352 people criminally liable, while the Interior Ministry put its own nine-month seizures at 6,443 kg.
Charged 4,352Plants destroyed 21,355Cannabis 7.49053271 t
Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry said Oğuz district police detained S.İbrahimov, E.İsmayılov and T.Haşımov and found drugs, cannabis plants they had cultivated and firearms. A court ordered the three held in pre-trial detention and a criminal case was opened.
Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry said officers detained Ramil Aliyev and Nihat Abdurrahmanov in Absheron and Garadagh districts and found hashish resin, marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine and opium among 57 kg of drugs and 1,981 methadone tablets. A court ordered both men held in pre-trial detention over a smuggling case.
