Russian court orders US citizen suspected of drug smuggling held in custody

A U.S. citizen named Kalob Wayne Byers has been ordered to be held in pre-trial detention in Moscow for 30 days after being suspected of drug smuggling with cannabis-laced marmalade found in his baggage at Vnukovo airport. Russian authorities reported that the 28-year-old American faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, with no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department. This comes after a recent prisoner swap between Washington and Moscow, involving Russian cryptocurrency expert Alexander Vinnik and American teacher Marc Fogel, who had been serving a 14-year sentence in Russia for possessing prescribed marijuana, designated as wrongfully detained by President Joe Biden’s administration.

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