Russian court orders US citizen suspected of drug smuggling held in custody
Russian court orders US citizen suspected of drug smuggling held in custody
MOSCOW — A Moscow court has ordered a U.S. citizen suspected of drug smuggling held in pre-trial detention for 30 days, the Moscow courts press service said Saturday, days after a Moscow-Washington prisoner swap that the White House called a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the fighting in Ukraine.
The U.S. citizen, whom Saturday’s statement named as Kalob Wayne Byers, was detained after airport customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage.
Russian police said the 28-year-old American had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country, the Interfax agency reported, citing Russia’s Federal Customs Service. The agency said the American was detained at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after flying in from Istanbul on Feb. 7.
Mash, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the security services, said the U.S. citizen faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department.
The Washington-Moscow prisoner exchange this month saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the United States, returned to Russia in exchange for American Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania who was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school.
Fogel had been serving a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. President Joe Biden’s administration designated Fogel as wrongfully detained in December.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine, saying he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.
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