IOLR

During a customs inspection, officers from the Astara Customs Department discovered and seized a large shipment of drugs from illegal circulation. According to Oxu.Az, citing the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, a truck traveling from Iran to Russia with a declared shipment of lettuce was inspected at the Yug-Astara customs post. A stationary X-ray machine detected suspicious areas in the lettuce, after which the vehicle was subjected to a more thorough inspection.

A canine service dog helped locate 191 packages of dried marijuana among the lettuce, with a total net weight of 22 kg 565 g.

An investigation is underway.

Officers from the Main Directorate for Combating Cybercrime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan conducted an operation against the organizers of illegal online casinos and gambling, Oxu.Az reports, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs. During the operation, Safar Safarov, Fazil Mammadov, Riad Heydarli, and Nadir Soltanov were detained.

It was established that the detainees managed the administrative panels of online casinos created outside the country and targeted Azerbaijani users. This allowed them to organize gambling within Azerbaijan.

During searches of the suspects’ residential addresses, electronic storage devices, over 200 bank cards, mobile phone numbers, and other items used in illegal activities were found and seized as evidence.

The detainees have been charged and are facing criminal prosecution. The court ordered pretrial detention for Safar Safarov and Fazil Mamedov. Investigative actions in the criminal case against the other two individuals are ongoing.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs once again called on citizens not to participate in illegal gambling and online casinos, emphasizing that not only organizing such games but also participating in them entails legal liability.