The New York Times is reporting an American basketball player and two-time Olympic Gold medalist is being detained in Russia after hashish oil was found in her luggage at an airport outside of Moscow.
According to the report, Russian Federal Customs Service found vape cartridges that contained the oil. The Russian news agency TASS identified the player as Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, the organization has opened a criminal case into the large-scale transportation of drugs and the sentence could be up to 10 years in a Russian prison.
“We are aware of and are closely monitoring the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia,” the Mercury said in a statement. “We remain in constant contact with her family, her representation, the WNBA and NBA. We love and support Brittney and at this time our main concern is her safety, physical and mental health, and her safe return home.”
According to WNBA player Angel McCoughtry, Griner has been detained for three weeks now.
Russia has become a popular destination for WNBA players to compete in the offseason, and Griner has played for UMMC Ekaterinburg for multiple seasons.
A WNBA spokesperson said all league players aside from Griner were out of Russia as the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine continues to grow and tensions between the United States and Russia rise.
