Brittney Griner, Star W.N.B.A. Center, Is Detained in Russia
Russia said on Saturday that it had detained an American basketball player
later identified as Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner — on drug charges, entangling a U.S
citizen’s fate in the dangerous confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine
The Russian Federal Customs Service said its officials had detained the player after finding vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow
It released a video of a traveler going through airport security who appeared to be Griner
The Customs Service did not release the player’s name, but the Russian news agency Tass, citing a law enforcement source
Identified the player as Griner, a seven-time W.N.B.A. All-Star center for the Mercury
Lindsay Kagawa Colas said: "We are aware of the situation in Russia with Britney Greiner and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams and the W.N.B.A.