Seven-time WNBA All-Star center Brittney Griner, 31, has been detained by the Russian Federal Customs Service after it claims to have found hashish oil in her luggage, according to the New York Times and Russian news agency TASS.
She currently plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a women’s basketball team that competes in the Russian Premier League. When Griner’s luggage was checked at a security checkpoint at Sheremetyevo International Airport, customs allegedly found vape cartridges that contained the hashish oil.
It is not known at this time whether she was exiting the country. A number of American basketball players have already left Russia and Ukraine, returning to the United States amid the ongoing war between the nations. A criminal case has been opened into Griner, who is currently in custody and could be charged with “large-scale transportation of drugs, an offense that can carry a sentence of up to 10 years behind bars in Russia,” according to the Times. The investigation is ongoing.
“We are aware of the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA,” Griner’s agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas said. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern.”
The Mercury and USA Basketball said they are monitoring the situation with Griner, with the Mercury adding their “main concern is her safety, physical and mental health and her safe return home.” Officials say Griner was carrying vaping equipment with cannabis oil cartridges and can face up to 10 years in prison.
