American Basketball Player Brittney Griner Is In Russian Custody

Brittney Griner is a 31-year-old professional basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association for the Phoenix Mercury. She also won gold in 2021 and 2016 while playing for the US women’s national basketball team. Griner is also a seven-time WNBA All-Star,

She was seized at a Moscow airport and is being held in jail by Russian authorities. According to The New York Times, vape cartridges containing hashish oil were discovered in her luggage at Sheremetyevo Airport after she arrived in Russia from New York.

Brittney Griner was detained back in February. A drug-sniffing canine discovered so-called vapes in her luggage containing the narcotic substance cannabis oil, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. As per multiple reports, the Russian Federal Customs Service made a statement.

As a U.S. citizen was passing through the green channel at Sheremetyevo Airport upon arriving from New York, a working dog from the Sheremetyevo Customs canine department detected the possible presence of narcotic substances in the accompanying luggage. The customs inspection of the hand luggage being carried by the U.S. citizen confirmed the presence of vapes with specifically-smelling liquid, and an expert determined that the liquid was cannabis oil (hash oil), which is a narcotic substance.

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Interfax said that Griner was seized as a preventive measure. According to The Times, the offence carries a maximum sentence of ten years in a Russian prison. The Phoenix Mercury, Griner’s team, issued a statement saying they were closely watching the situation and that they were in communication with her family and legal counsel.