A Moscow district court has fined rapper David Nuriev, known as Ptakha, 80,000 roubles for drug propaganda, the latest in a series of legal actions against public figures in Russia, Lebanon and Nigeria for drug-related content and other transgressions. The ruling, handed down by the Nikulinsky District Court on 16 July 2026, found that three songs by the former Centr group member violated administrative code article 6.13 by promoting narcotics online. Ptakha denied the charges, arguing that he had transferred rights to the tracks to legal entities and that the social media posts were made by unknown users. The court also heard that the musician had provided assistance to children and to fighters in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

In Lebanon, a criminal court sentenced social media influencer George Hanna Dib, widely known as “Dr Food”, to life with hard labour in absentia in March 2026. The Mount Lebanon Criminal Court convicted Dib and several co-defendants of manufacturing cannabis-based narcotics and concealing them inside biscuit products bearing his commercial brand, then shipping them abroad via Turkey. Lebanese judicial sources indicate that Dib remains at large despite repeated security operations. The verdict also stripped the defendants of their civil rights and imposed a fine of 120 million Lebanese pounds. The case has drawn attention to the exploitation of a food brand’s international reputation for drug trafficking.

In Nigeria, the Federal High Court in Kano sentenced 28-year-old Ashiru Idris to seven years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on 14 July 2026 for advertising cannabis sativa for sale on social media. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stated that Idris was arrested in April after a video circulated showing him publicly promoting the drug. The NDLEA’s Kano commander described the judgment as a warning to those who “brazenly promote illegal substances on public platforms” and called for continued public cooperation in reporting drug-related crimes.

Viewed from Moscow, the Ptakha case forms part of a broader enforcement trend. Since March 2026, Russian law has required mandatory labelling of any mention of narcotics in media, books, music and film produced after 1 August 1990. Russian court records show that the same administrative article has previously been applied to rappers including Big Baby Tape, OG Buda, Pharaoh and Scally Milano, often following complaints from civic groups such as the Safe Internet League. In a separate development, Dmitry Spirin, frontman of the rock band “Tarakanы!” and designated a foreign agent by Russia’s Ministry of Justice, has begun auctioning individual pages of his Russian passport online, with a starting price of $50 per page. Spirin, who left Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and recently obtained Argentine citizenship, said the proceeds would support Ukraine and described the sale as a symbolic farewell to Russia, as he cannot formally renounce his citizenship due to criminal proceedings against him.

The dossiers remain active. Ptakha’s case was heard on 16 July 2026, and the fine is subject to appeal. Lebanese authorities continue to search for Dib to execute the life sentence. In Nigeria, Idris’s seven-year term runs from the date of judgment. Spirin’s passport auction is ongoing, with no indication of a legal response from Russian authorities.