Yesterday the news of Brittney Griner’s arrest in Russia on drug charges rocked us all.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, the Phoenix Mercury star was detained and had her baggage searched, which is when they found the prohibited items.
“The customs inspection of the hand luggage being carried by the U.S. citizen confirmed the presence of vapes with specifically-smelling liquid, and an expert determined that the liquid was cannabis oil (hash oil), which is a narcotic substance,” said the Service in a statement.
The video footage of Griner at Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow clearly shows the WNBA star at the security checkpoint, but this is where the situation becomes cloudy.
According to multiple outlets such as The New York Times, the Russian Service said the incident took place in February. That means that it occurred at least a week ago. Some claim that it took place as much as three weeks ago, but that’s unconfirmed as of now.
What is confirmed is that Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th and the United States and other nations imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia in response.
Even if Griner’s arrest occurred before the invasion, it still happened during a month where tensions between Russia and Ukraine were escalating daily.
That should capture everyone’s attention.
The U.S. advised all American citizens to leave Russia. The WNBA confirmed all their players were home safely, but Griner was the last one remaining.
Why is this important? Because now Russia has a high-profile bargaining chip against the United States, which is leading the charge to cripple Russia’s economy as punishment for their attack on Ukraine.
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