Article 234.4.3 (Illegal acquisition or possession for the purpose of sale, manufacture, production, processing, transportation, transfer, or sale of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in large quantities) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On January 31, 2023, Rza Alakbarov, a well-known theologian in southern Azerbaijan from the village of Zangyana in the Sabirabad district, was sentenced to four months of pretrial detention during the preliminary investigation. His pretrial detention was subsequently extended several times.