MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Three Azeri citizens and one Iranian have been given prison sentences ranging from 11 to 17 years for smuggling over 70 kilograms of hashish disguised as a shipment of potatoes into Moscow.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office identified the persons convicted by the Moscow City Court as Iranian citizen Mukaddam Boumi, 32, and three natives of Azerbaijan - Yashar Namazov, Eldaniz Gadimov and Ilham Guseinov.
"The judges established that Gadimov, Guseinov and Boumi were members of an organized criminal group of drug dealers led by Namazov. The members of this gang were engaged in smuggling large hauls of hashish from Iran into Moscow, disguising the drugs as potato shipments," the Prosecutor's Office said on its website on Monday.
The four were detained in February 2011 as they delivered 19 kilograms of drugs to the Russian capital, it said. Another 52.3 kilograms of hashish were confiscated from their apartments.
"Namazov was jailed for 17 years, Gadimov and Guseinov received 14 years in prison each, and Boumi was sentenced to 11 years. All of them will serve their terms in high-security prisons," it said.
The men were found guilty of drug smuggling, preparations to illegally sell drugs and involvement with a criminal community, the Prosecutor's Office said.