Russia Arrests US Olympic Basketball Champion Amid Ukraine Crisis

Russia said Saturday it had arrested an American woman who is a two-time Olympic basketball champion on narcotics charges as tensions between Moscow and the West soar over Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

A statement by the Russian Federal Customs Service said that an inspection of hand luggage carried by a US citizen who arrived on a flight from New York in February “confirmed the presence of ‘vapes’ (and) a liquid with a specific smell”.

An expert had found that the liquid was the narcotic cannabis oil (hash oil), the statement said.

The statement did not provide the identity of the jailed woman but said that she was “a member of the US National Basketball Association, a two-time Olympic basketball champion in the US team”.

However, Russian news agency TASS, citing a law enforcement source, identified the player as Brittney Griner, a seven-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star center for the Phoenix Mercury.

The detained woman faces a potential jail term of 5 to 10 years, the customs service said.

Many women basketballers who play in the WNBA spend the American off-season playing in European leagues, including the Russian and Ukrainian leagues.