Kevin C. Cox
American basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia after Moscow-area airport authorities reportedly discovered vape pen cartridges that contained cannabis oil amongst her belongings, based on stories.
The all-star participant for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury is now beneath investigation for drug trafficking, the Russian Federal Customs Service mentioned in an announcement on Saturday, an offense that would result in a 10-year jail sentence. Russian media indicated that Griner was arrested in February, though stories did not specify the precise date. Griner has not posted on her Instagram account since Feb. 5.
In accordance with the Customs Service, Griner was arriving on the Moscow-based airport Sheremetyevo on a flight from New York when a police canine alerted officers to her baggage. Launched video exhibits Griner’s luggage being checked. Her objects have been then X-rayed, the place the vape cartridges containing narcotic hashish oil have been allegedly found. Griner has been in Russian police custody since her arrest.
Along with taking part in for the Phoenix Mercury within the U.S., Griner additionally competes in Russia’s ladies’s basketball league, taking part in for Yekaterinburg UMMC since 2015. Their season is at present underway, and Griner seems to have final performed for the group in January.
Griner’s arrest and detainment comes as Russia’s relationship with Western nations has change into direly strained, because of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The nation has a historical past of arresting and sentencing Individuals on bogus or heightened costs, based on The New York Instances.
“I clearly don’t know the circumstances of her detention, however Griner’s arrest ought to function a wake-up name to all Individuals in Russia,” Michael A. McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow advised the outlet. “Get out. Shut down your companies now.”
Griner’s present accomplice Cherelle Watson Griner has not but made any assertion on Griner’s arrest, nor has her rapid relations.
Her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas mentioned that Griner’s relations had been made conscious of her detainment, including, “As that is an ongoing authorized matter, we aren't in a position to remark additional on the specifics of her case however can affirm that as we work to get her residence, her psychological and bodily well being stay our main concern.”
In an announcement, Phoenix Mercury mentioned it was “intently monitoring the scenario” with Griner and was in “fixed contact together with her household, her illustration, the WNBA and NBA.”
“We love and help Brittney and right now our fundamental concern is her security, bodily and psychological well being, and her secure return residence,” the group added. The WNBA issued an identical assertion, stating its fundamental precedence was bringing her residence safely as quickly as attainable.