Russian authorities have released Kalob Byers, the 28-year-old American who was arrested this month for carrying cannabis-infused gummies into the country, the Associated Press reports.
Byers and his fiance Naida Mambetova, a Russian national, were arrested on February 7 by customs officials at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow after authorities allegedly found cannabis-infused gummies and marmalade products in Byers’ luggage. The pair faced drug smuggling charges carrying up to 1 million rubles (about $11,000) in fines and up to ten years imprisonment.
Byers was released to the U.S. embassy on Monday, however, ahead of talks on Tuesday between Moscow and Washington about ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in 2022 when Russia illegally invaded Ukrainian territory. A spokesperson for the Kremlin said Moscow plans the talks to cover restoring relations between Russia and the U.S., “so certain events can be viewed in this context.”
Members of the Byers family announced his release in a February 16 Facebook post and an unnamed U.S. official confirmed the news, the AP reported. The Byers family also announced that Mambetova has been released and is with her family.
The incident unfolded remarkably fast in comparison to other Americans who were recently detained by Russian authorities on cannabis charges. WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested by Russian authorities in 2022 for possessing cannabis-infused vape cartridges, sentenced to nine years imprisonment, and was imprisoned for 10 months before U.S. officials secured her release in a high-profile prisoner swap. Meanwhile, Marc Fogel, a teacher and former U.S. diplomat who was arrested in 2021 after Russian customs officials allegedly found about 17 grams of cannabis in his luggage, was released earlier this month in another prisoner swap after serving about three and a half years of his 14-year drug smuggling prison sentence.
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