Russia Detains Another US Citizen on Drugs Charges Days After Swap

Days after Russia released one American prisoner, another has been detained.

Per AP

Russia has detained another U.S. citizen after customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his luggage, Russian media said Friday, days after a Moscow-Washington prisoner swap that the White House called a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the fighting in Ukraine.

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 last Friday.

Mash, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the security services, said the U.S. citizen, identified only as K. Byers, faced 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 after being freed for American Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania who was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school.

We will updated as news comes in.