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The US basketball player Brittney Griner in action: She was apparently arrested at Moscow Airport
Photo: PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS
US basketball player Brittney Griner has apparently been arrested at Moscow Airport.
As reported by Russian customs, so-called vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in the luggage of a player from the US team in February.
According to the information, this could result in a prison sentence of up to ten years.
Russian media reported that it was Griner.
The authorities did not say exactly when the arrest was made.
Griner's advisor said they were aware of "the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia" and were in close contact with her, her legal counsel, her family and also the WNBA and the NBA.
The WNBA is the women's professional league in the USA, in which Griner plays for Phoenix Mercury.
The consultant did not want to provide any further information because of the ongoing proceedings.
Griner is one of the star players in the WNBA, she was voted into the league's all-star team seven times, and in 2016 she won the gold medal with the US national team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Supplemented her salary with second club in Russia
Griner was apparently in Russia for her second team.
The 31-year-old has also been playing for the Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg for seven years.
This is not unusual: basketball players from the USA improve their salaries in European leagues outside of the domestic season, in Russia Griner is said to have earned more than one million US dollars per season.
More than a dozen WNBA players played in Russia and Ukraine this winter.
The WNBA announced that all other players have left the countries.
Griner last played for Yekaterinburg on January 29.
On Saturday, the US had asked all US citizens to leave Russia immediately because of the Russian war against Ukraine.
The reason given by the State Department was that US citizens could potentially be harassed by Russian authorities.
In Russia there are harsh penalties for cannabis possession, both consumption and possession can already be punished with fines and short prison sentences.
The possible ten years that are now being called by the customs authorities are actually only due for possessions of more than 100 grams.
Vape cartridges, like the ones Griner is said to have had with him, can be consumed via so-called vaporizers.
The content is not burned as with conservative smoking, but only vaporized.
As with e-cigarettes, the vapor contains fewer harmful and carcinogenic substances than cigarette smoke.
hba/AP