Customs officers detained for assisting in illegal smuggling

The Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Customs Committee have created a joint investigation team to investigate smuggling and bribery crimes committed by individuals and officials, Report informs, citing a joint statement by the agencies.

During the investigation, reasonable suspicions were established that Azerbaijani citizens – the founder of Karvan 313 LLC Telman Ibrahimov, the deputy director of this LLC, former customs officer Arif Rzayev, former customs officer Tavekkul Bayramov, Shahin Soltanov, Turkish citizen Shener Bilgi and other individuals were engaged in the smuggling of precious metals during 2023-2024, which were exported under the guise of other goods on about 60 trucks through the Red Bridge customs post to the territory of Georgia, bypassing customs regulations.
Based on the collected evidence, Elmir Mamedov was charged under Article 311.3.4 (accepting a bribe with the use of threats), Turab Nasirov – under Article 311.2 (accepting a bribe by an official for illegal actions), Vasif Abiyev and Elchin Shabanov – under Article 314.2 (negligence resulting in grave consequences), Telman Ibrahimov, Arif Rzayev, Tavekkul Bayramov, Shahin Soltanov and Shener Bilgi – under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy) of the Criminal Code.

Based on the court decision, Turab Nasirov, Elmir Mammadov, Telman Ibrahimov, Arif Rzayev, Rovshan Ibrahimov, Tavekkul Bayramov and Shahin Soltanov were remanded in custody, Vasif Abiyev and Elchin Shabanov were remanded in police supervision and suspended from office, and Sener Bilgi was placed on the wanted list.

Investigative and operational measures are currently underway to identify other individuals who participated in the commission of these illegal actions.

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