Russia has released Kalob Byers, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen who was detained earlier this month at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on drug smuggling charges related to marijuana.
Kalob Byers.
Byers was taken into custody on February 7 after Russian authorities allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. He had arrived from Istanbul with his Russian fiancée, Naida Mambetova, who was also arrested. Russian officials accused him of attempting to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs, a charge that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence.
Following his release, Byers is now at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and is awaiting a flight home, according to reports from Russian independent news outlet Meduza. A U.S. official confirmed his release to the Associated Press but did not provide further details. It remains unclear whether Mambetova has also been freed, as she was reportedly placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges.
Byers’ release comes shortly after Russia freed Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania teacher who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for possessing medically prescribed marijuana. Fogel was detained in 2021 while traveling to Russia for work and had long been considered wrongfully detained by his supporters. He was released earlier this month in a prisoner exchange that saw Russian cryptocurrency expert Alexander Vinnik returned to Russia.
The U.S. and Russia have increasingly used prisoner swaps to resolve high-profile detentions, particularly as relations between the two nations have soured over the war in Ukraine. Byers’ release, along with Fogel’s, signals a potential shift in diplomatic negotiations, though the full implications remain uncertain.
