Former Head of Turkmen Railways Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Russia for MDMA Smuggling

Former Head of Turkmen Railways Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Russia for MDMA Smuggling On July 21, 2026, the Moscow Regional Court upheld the sentence of Hydyr Rakhmanov, the former head of Türkmenistanyň Demirýollary (Turkmen Railways), who was convicted of smuggling and possessing controlled psychoactive substances. According to the court materials, Rakhmanov was detained on October 4, 2025, at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport while attempting to bring approximately 20 tablets containing MDMA into Russia, with a total weight of 7.16 grams. Some of the tablets were concealed inside packaging for stomach medication, while others were mixed with different capsules and pills. The Domodedovo City Court found the former official guilty of large-scale smuggling of psychoactive substances and illegal possession without intent to distribute. Although the relevant articles of the Russian Criminal Code provide for significantly harsher penalties, the court took into account mitigating circumstances, including his guilty plea, cooperation with the investigation, family circumstances, and health condition, and imposed a sentence below the statutory minimum—8 years and 6 months of imprisonment. The appellate court upheld the verdict. According to turkmen.news, attempts were reportedly made to secure the former official's acquittal. The outlet states that influential figures, intermediaries, and a team of lawyers were involved in efforts to overturn the case, but these attempts were ultimately unsuccessful. During the investigation and trial, Rakhmanov gave different explanations regarding the origin of the tablets, claiming that he believed they were sedatives and that he was unaware of their actual contents. The case attracted significant public attention because Rakhmanov previously headed the state-owned railway operator of Turkmenistan, which manages the country's railway infrastructure. Source: turkmen.news https://turkmen.news/2026/07/23/eks-glavu-turkmenskih-zheleznyh-dorog-osudili-v-rossii-na-8-5-let-za-kontrabandu-mdma/ Photo: Image from the turkmen.news publication.