An Azerbaijani crime figure has been detained in Russia, according to reports from Russian Telegram channels.
According to Vesti Baku, citing the Telegram channel Two Majors, officers from Russia’s Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) carried out an operation involving members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the city of Voronezh.
During the operation, Niyaz Zaidov was detained. The channel described him as a leading figure in Azerbaijani organized crime in the Voronezh region and as the individual overseeing the local Alekseyevsky Market.
Zaidov was taken to a police station, where his Russian passport was seized, after which he was transferred to a detention center for illegal migrants, the report said.
According to the same source, a court in Voronezh sentenced Zaidov in 2005 to eight years in prison for a violent crime. He reportedly served his sentence in Azerbaijan.
After his release, Zaidov returned to Russia and obtained Russian citizenship in 2019.
Russian authorities have not yet issued an official comment on the detention.
