Latest news with #FederalCustomsService
Daily Tribune
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Russia releases footage of US man detained at Moscow airport
Russia yesterday published images of a US man that its customs officers arrested a day earlier at a Moscow airport for allegedly travelling with gummy candy laced with cannabis derivatives. Russian media said a day earlier that a 28-year-old American was detained at Vnukovo airport after flying in from Istanbul. The arrest came after a prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington, and after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone about settling the Ukraine conflict. The press service of the Russian court system published a video on Telegram of a bearded young man in a white shirt behind bars. The court service named him as 'Calob Wayne Bayers', according to a transliteration from Cyrillic. 'While passing customs, one of his suitcases drew the attention of a service dog,' the state TASS news agency reported Friday, citing Russia's Federal Customs Service. 'During the customs search, inspectors found two plastic jars and a zip-bag with the candy in it. Chemical analysis showed narcotic substances of the cannabinoid group in it.' State media reported the man said the sweets were prescribed by a US doctor and that he needed them for travelling. In 2022, Russia arrested US basketball player Brittney Griner at a Moscow airport for carrying medicinal cannabis, which she said was prescribed by a US doctor. She was later exchanged for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Russia holds several US citizens in detention, including ballerina Ksenia Karelina, retired English teacher Stephen Hubbard and former US marine Robert Gilman.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
American accused of smuggling drugs taken into Russian custody
A court in Russia ordered the 30-day detention of a U.S. citizen suspected of drug smuggling, Moscow courts press service reported Saturday, per the Associated Press. Kalob Wayne Byers, 28, was apprehended by customs officials at Vnukovo airport in Moscow during a baggage inspection. On Friday, Russia's Federal Customs Service confirmed that a U.S. citizen had been detained. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the country's Federal Customs Service as saying that the U.S. citizen was arrested at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Feb. 7 after arriving from Istanbul for allegedly attempting to bring a large quantity of illegal drugs into Russia. A Russian Telegram channel, Mash, which is connected to security services, stated that the American could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison if found guilty. Earlier on Tuesday, the Trump administration announced it had secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher who has been detained in Russia on drug charges since his arrest in 2021. National security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement Tuesday that special envoy Steve Witkoff was leaving Russian airspace with Fogel after the U.S. negotiated an exchange with Russia. Waltz did not say if the U.S. or an ally released someone in return. But the Kremlin said early Wednesday Fogel's release came in conjunction with the Trump administration granting freedom to a Russian citizen held in a U.S. prison — though they were not identified. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters the former prisoner would be named after they reach Russian soil in the next several days, per AP. The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
16-02-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
American accused of smuggling drugs taken into Russian custody
A court in Russia ordered the 30-day detention of a U.S. citizen suspected of drug smuggling, Moscow courts press service reported Saturday, per the Associated Press. Kalob Wayne Byers, 28, was apprehended by customs officials at Vnukovo airport in Moscow during a baggage inspection. On Friday, Russia's Federal Customs Service confirmed that a U.S. citizen had been detained. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the country's Federal Customs Service as saying that the U.S. citizen was arrested at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Feb. 7 after arriving from Istanbul for allegedly attempting to bring a large quantity of illegal drugs into Russia. A Russian Telegram channel, Mash, which is connected to security services, stated that the American could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison if found guilty. Earlier on Tuesday, the Trump administration announced it had secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher who has been detained in Russia on drug charges since his arrest in 2021. National security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement Tuesday that special envoy Steve Witkoff was leaving Russian airspace with Fogel after the U.S. negotiated an exchange with Russia. Waltz did not say if the U.S. or an ally released someone in return. But the Kremlin said early Wednesday Fogel's release came in conjunction with the Trump administration granting freedom to a Russian citizen held in a U.S. prison — though they were not identified. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters the former prisoner would be named after they reach Russian soil in the next several days, per AP.
Voice of America
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
US citizen detained in Russia, accused of drug smuggling
A Moscow court has ordered a U.S. citizen suspected of drug smuggling held in pre-trial detention for 30 days, the Moscow courts press service said Saturday, days after a Moscow-Washington prisoner swap that the White House called a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the fighting in Ukraine. The U.S. citizen, whom Saturday's statement named as Kalob Wayne Byers, was detained after airport customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. Russian police said the 28-year-old American had attempted to smuggle a "significant amount" of drugs into the country, the Interfax agency reported, citing Russia's Federal Customs Service. The agency said the American was detained at Moscow's Vnukovo airport after flying in from Istanbul on February 7. Mash, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the security services, said the U.S. citizen faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department. The Washington-Moscow prisoner exchange this month saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the United States, returned to Russia in exchange for American Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania who was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school. Fogel had been serving a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. President Joe Biden's administration designated Fogel as wrongfully detained in December. President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine, saying he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.
Fox News
15-02-2025
- Fox News
American detained in Russia identified as Kalob Wayne Byers
Kalob Wayne Byers was identified as the American citizen taken into custody in Russia on a drug smuggling charge, according to media reports. The 28-year-old was detained at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on Feb. 7 after a K-9 with the Russian Federal Customs Service detected something in his luggage, Russia's TASS news agency reported. Byers will remain in custody for 30 days, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Moscow City Court's Press Office. It released an image Saturday purportedly showing Byers behind bars as he appeared by video link at a court hearing. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday by Fox News Digital. Byers was allegedly carrying cannabis gummies at the time of his detention. He has been charged with smuggling narcotic drugs into the country and could face up to 10 years in prison, TASS reported. "A chemical analysis revealed the presence of narcotic substances from the cannabinoid group," the customs service reported, according to TASS, adding the man claimed his U.S. doctor had prescribed the gummies. News of Byers' detention comes as Marc Fogel, a U.S. citizen who was detained on drug charges in Russia four years ago, was released on Tuesday in exchange for Russian prisoner Alexander Vinnik, who had been detained by the U.S. government on cryptocurrency fraud charges. Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, was serving a 14-year prison sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for being in possession of drugs, which his family and supporters said were medically prescribed marijuana.
