Russia reportedly frees American Kalob Byers, detained for alleged cannabis, as Trump seeks Ukraine deal – CBS News
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Russia freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges and he has returned to the U.S., according to Russian media reports, his mother, and a U.S. official who spoke with The Associated Press. CBS News learned Tuesday that Kalob Byers, 28, from Ohio, was back in the U.S.
The move appeared to be an effort to ease tension between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, which are expected to focus on the war in Ukraine and the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. Byers was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced gummies in his baggage. Byers’ mother, Tonya Shuler, said in a social media post on Saturday that Byers was “now in American custody and at the US embassy waiting for his flight home” from Russia.
According to Shuler’s Facebook post and the Russian media reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years.
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