World News | Russian Court Orders US Citizen Suspected of Drug Smuggling Held in Custody

Moscow, Feb 15 (AP) A Moscow court has ordered a US 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 US citizen, whom Saturday's statement named as Kalob Wayne Byers, was detained after airport customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage.

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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 February 7.

Mash, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the security services, said the US citizen faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

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There was no immediate comment from the US 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 travelling 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 US 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. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)