A Russian court has ordered an American man to be held in custody for 30 days after he was arrested at a Moscow airport on drug-smuggling charges when customs officials said they found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage.
The arrest of the U.S. citizen, whom a Moscow court statement identified as Kalob Wayne Byers, 28, comes days after a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that the White House described as a sign of a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Police said the American, whom Russian media outlets reported said was detained at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on February 7 following a flight from Istanbul, was accused of smuggling a "significant amount" of drugs into Russia. A court post on Telegram said he faces a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.
SEE ALSO: Convicted Russian Cybercriminal Returns To Russia After Release Of AmericanMost suspects ordered held in custody are sent to pretrial jail. Custody orders can be extended repeatedly.
The United States and other Western governments have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin's government of arresting citizens of Western countries on fabricated or exaggerated charges and holding them as "hostages" it can trade with the United States and other countries.
This week, American teacher Marc Fogel, detained at a Moscow airport in 2021 with medical marijuana in his baggage, wasreleased in exchange for Aleksandr Vinnik, a confessed Russian cybercriminal.
A much larger exchange took place in August 2024, when Russia freed 16 people, including RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan. Eight Russians were returned home in that exchange, the largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War.
U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on a drug smuggling charge and spent 10 months behind bars in Russia before her release in December 2022 in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.