U.S. Citizen Detained at Moscow Airport for Drug Charges

A U.S. citizen has been detained at Moscow's Vnukovo airport for allegedly smuggling drugs. Identified as K. Byers, he faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty. The arrest follows the release of Marc Fogel, a U.S. schoolteacher, in a recent U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange happening earlier this week.

A U.S. citizen has been arrested at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on charges of drug smuggling, according to Mash, a channel with ties to Russia's security services. The individual, identified as K. Byers, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. Authorities reportedly found half a kilo of marijuana in his possession.

This arrest coincides with the release of Marc Fogel, a U.S. schoolteacher who was imprisoned for 14 years in Russia for bringing marijuana into the country. Fogel was freed in a prisoner swap involving Alexander Vinnik, a Russian held in the U.S. for money laundering charges.

The U.S. embassy in Moscow declined to comment further, citing privacy restrictions. This arrest follows other high-profile detentions of U.S. citizens under Russia's stringent drug laws, including basketball player Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2022 but released later in a prisoner exchange.