MIAMI, United States. – A 20-year-old Cuban man, identified as Hugo Alberto Formes Romero, was sentenced in Volgograd, Russia, to eight years and six months of deprivation of liberty in a “strict regime” prison colony for attempted illegal drug trafficking through telecommunications networks, according to reported this Thursday the Procurator’s Office (Prosecutor’s Office) of the Volgograd region.
According to the official statement, the Traktorozavodski District Court (Volgograd city) found the accused guilty of the crime of attempting to illegally sell narcotics “in a significant quantity”, “as part of an organized group” and using computer networks.
The official note indicates that, during the trial, it was established that the accused arrived in the Russian Federation in September 2025 with the aim of participating in illicit drug trafficking activities within an organized group. According to the prosecution, he acted under the instructions of a “curator” and attempted to illegally sell mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) weighing 0.946 grams, by preparing a cache on Zholudeva Street, in the Traktorozavodski district of Volgograd.
The prosecution added that the plan was not carried out because the activity was interrupted by law enforcement. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered, at the initiative of the prosecution, the confiscation of the mobile phone used to commit the crime to the State.
The statement highlights that the ruling has not yet come into force and can be appealed by the parties.
In September of last year transcended that a Volgograd court had ordered the administrative arrest for 24 hours and the expulsion of the same young Cuban, then 19 years old, just four days after his arrival in Russian territory.
According to a report from the local portal V1.RUwhich quotes the Unified Press Service of the Courts of the Volgograd Region, the young man was detained on September 23 with signs of intoxication, he refused to undergo a toxicological examination and the judge considered it proven that he failed to comply with a legal requirement. The magistrate ordered his arrest and expulsion for consumption of narcotic or psychotropic substances without a medical prescription.
According to V1.RUthe Cuban was taken to a police station after his arrest and the refusal to take the exam was recorded in an administrative record sent to the court. At the hearing, the young man did not admit guilt, stating that he was very tired at the time of the arrest, that he had not used drugs and that he had only been in Russia for four days. Before expulsion, he would spend 24 hours in custody.
However, at that time, the administrative expulsion ordered by the court was not final and could be appealed. Now, with the news of the conviction, it is known that the young man was not expelled from the country.
