WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner arrested in Russia on drug charges
Griner was arrested after vape cartridges were found in her carry-on luggage at a Moscow airport.
WNBA All-Star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner faces 5 to 10 years in Russian prison after she was arrested on drug smuggling charges when she was found with vape cartridges in her carry-on luggage at a Moscow airport, according to Russian news sources.
Russiaâs Interfax news agency said a female US basketball player was arrested in February, at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow after arriving on a flight from New York.
A drug sniffing dog indicated narcotics in luggage, and when the bag was X-rayed, âso-called âvapes’â were discovered âwith a specific order,â according to Interfax, which cited the Russian Federal Customs Service.
âThe expert found that the liquid is a narcotic drug cannabis oil (hashish oil),â Interax said.
The independent Russian news website identified the player as Griner.
Interfax said she was detained as a âpreventive measure.â There was no indication she was released.
Griner has been absent from social media since Feb. 5.
A spokesman for her WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, could not immediately be reached for comment. USA Basketball did not immediately respond to a request for information. Griner hasnât posted on her Instagram account since Feb. 5.
Griner, 31, a member of the 2014 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury and the 2016 Olympics gold medal team, has played during the WNBA off-season for the Russian team Ekaterinburg in the Euroleague since 2015.