Eight Russians jailed three to four years in Baku over marijuana from Iran
A Baku court sentenced eight Russian citizens to three or four years in prison for trafficking narcotics transited from Iran and for cyber fraud. The eight were held in the city in summer 2025, part of a group of 11 Russians detained as relations between Baku and Moscow collapsed.
A court in Baku sentenced eight Russian citizens to prison on charges of
trafficking drugs transited from Iran and of cyber fraud.[1]Sergei Sofronov,
Anton Drachev, Dmitry Bezugly and Valery Dulov each received four years.[1]Dmitry Fedorov, Boris Timoshov, Alexei Vasilchenko and Ilya Bezugly were each
sentenced to three years.[1]Meduza, citing Minval, reported that all eight
were declared guilty of “illicit trafficking of narcotic substances on an
especially large scale”.[2]
The eight were charged with trafficking and distribution of narcotics from Iran,
while three other detained Russians were tried over cybercrime.[3]Igor
Zabolotsky and Ilnur Valitov, convicted separately of cyber fraud, were each
given three years, and Alexander Vaiser was given four years for laundering
money from illegal websites.[3]Police in Baku detained 11 Russians in the
summer of 2025; eight were charged with drug smuggling and three others with
cyber fraud.[3]
The suspects included recently relocated IT specialists, entrepreneurs and
tourists who were picked up at random.[2]The June sentences finished the
court’s handling of the cases of those held in Baku in 2025.[3]The detentions
followed a sharp conflict between Moscow and Baku over the removal of
Azerbaijanis from Russia in 2025.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Meduzameduza.ioRUВ Азербайджане восьмерым российским релокантам, задержанным во время конфликта Баку и Москвы, дали сроки до четырех лет за «контрабанду наркотиков»
The reports do not give the quantity or type of the drugs, so the share of cannabis and any weight are unrecorded and no kilograms are counted.
The charges mix drug transit and cyber fraud; the sentences do not state how much of each term relates to the drug count.
The reports name no specific court or judge beyond the Baku city court, and no appeal outcome is recorded.
The sentences are described as a first-instance verdict; relatives said they did not know whether an appeal would be filed.
Igor Zabolotsky and Ilnur Valitov, named separately for cyber fraud alone, are not counted among the eight; only the drug-convicted group is counted here.
The exact date of detention of the eight in summer 2025 is not given by these sources; the date used is the sentencing date, 19 June 2026.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Meduza: There were eight convicted Russians in the case, all of whom were found guilty of "illicit trafficking of narcotic substances on an especially large scale".
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
Customs officers at South Astara found 97.685 kilograms of cannabis in 90 packages hidden under lettuce on a truck travelling from Iran to Russia. A customs dog indicated the pallet during an inspection, and the State Customs Committee reported that an investigation was under way.
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.
