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 Azerbaijan Republic.

On November 23, 2022, Shahin Gadirli, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement, was returning home from work when he was detained at a bus stop by unidentified plainclothes men and taken to an unknown location. Later, on November 26, after the court verdict the day before, his relatives learned that he had been arrested by officers from the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On November 25, 2022, the Narimanov District Court of Baku imposed a four-month prison sentence as a preventive measure to continue the investigation. The pretrial detention period during the investigation was subsequently extended several times.