A Moscow court placed a US citizen under arrest for attempted drug trafficking, the latest of several Americans to be detained in Russia in recent years, according to Bloomberg.
Robert Woodland Romanov will be held until March 5 under the order, the Interfax news service reported Tuesday, citing the court. Other details of the case weren’t disclosed by the court.
President Vladimir Putin said in December that Russia and the US were discussing possible prisoner swaps when he was asked about detained American citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. Putin said that any agreement between Russia and the US “must be mutually acceptable.” The US earlier had said Russia rejected an offer to secure the release of the two men.
Whelan was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on spying charges. Gershkovich was detained last March on spying charges and still awaits trial. The US insists Russia is wrongfully detaining both men.
WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested at a Russian airport on drug possession charges, sentenced to nine years and moved to a penal colony before her release in December 2022 as part of a one-for-one trade for Viktor Bout, an arms dealer imprisoned in the US.
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