Azerbaijan Sentences Eight Russian Nationals to Prison for Drug Smuggling Amid Moscow-Baku Conflict
An Azerbaijani court has sentenced eight Russian citizens detained during the conflict between Moscow and Baku to prison terms on drug smuggling charges, with sentences ranging from three to four years.
An Azerbaijani court has sentenced eight Russian citizens, who were detained during the conflict between Moscow and Baku, to prison terms, Minval reported. All eight were convicted of large-scale drug trafficking.
Sergey Sofronov, Anton Drachev, Dmitry Bezugly, and Valery Dulov each received four years. Dmitry Fedorov, Boris Timoshov, Alexey Vasilchenko, and Ilya Bezugly each received three years.
The crisis in relations between Russia and Azerbaijan began in December 2024 after an AZAL passenger plane crashed due to the actions of Russian air defenses. Russian authorities initially refused to take responsibility for the incident or issue an apology, prompting a sharp reaction from Baku.
The situation escalated in the summer of 2025 when influential members of the Azerbaijani diaspora began to be detained in Russia. In response, Azerbaijan detained 11 random Russian citizens, including recently relocated IT specialists, entrepreneurs, and tourists.
Earlier sentences were handed down in April and May. Aleksander Vaysero was given four years in prison, while Igor Zabolotsky and Ilnur Valitov were each sentenced to three years. All three were found guilty of cyber fraud and money laundering.
