BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3. A trial has begun in Baku against a group of Russian citizens, Sergey Safronov, Anton Drachyov, Dmitry Bezugly, Dmitry Fedorov, Alexander Vaiserov, Valery Dulov, Alexey Vasilchenko, and Ilya Bezugly, Trend reports.

At a hearing in Baku in the Court for Serious Criminal Cases, presided over by Judge Firdovsi Aliyev, the personal details of the defendants were verified.

Their defense attorneys filed motions to replace the pretrial detention with house arrest.

The court denied the motions; the next hearing is scheduled for April 10.

Meanwhile, Sergey Safronov, Anton Drachyov, Dmitry Bezugly, Dmitry Fedorov, Alexander Vaiserov, Valery Dulov, Alexey Vasilchenko, and Ilya Bezugly were detained as a result of an operation by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs targeting the transit of narcotics through Iran, drug trafficking, and cyber fraud. On July 1 of last year, the Sabayil District Court imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention on them.