A 28-year-old American who was recently arrested in Russia, Kalob Byers, has been released after spending several days in custody, according to a senior Trump administration official.
Byers was detained at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on February 7 after Russian customs officials reportedly found cannabis-infused marmalade in his luggage.
He had arrived from Istanbul alongside his Russian fiancée, who was also taken into custody.
Authorities accused him of attempting to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs, a charge that carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years.
His release occurred just hours before senior officials from the US and Russia were set to engage in talks over the Ukraine conflict in Saudi Arabia.
Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported that Byers was handed over to the US Embassy in Moscow late Sunday evening, citing a Facebook post by his parents.
An official from the US government, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, also confirmed his release to the Associated Press.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, when asked about Byers’ case on Monday, linked it to broader discussions between the two nations.
“We expect to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” during the Saudi talks, he said, adding that “certain events can be viewed in this context.”
It remains unclear whether Byers’ fiancée, identified by Russian media as Naida Mambetova, has also been freed.
Reports indicated she was placed in pretrial detention on the same charges.
Byers’ release follows a similar case involving Marc Fogel, an American teacher who was detained in Russia for over three years on drug charges.
Arrested in August 2021 for carrying cannabis prescribed for severe spinal pain, Fogel was convicted in June 2022 of “large-scale drug smuggling” and sentenced to 14 years in a hard labor camp.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, referenced Fogel’s release as a potential indicator of the evolving dynamic between Washington and Moscow.
“I think that’s maybe a sign about how that working relationship between President Trump and President Putin will be in the future, and what that may portend for the world at large, for conflict and so forth. I think they had a great friendship, and I think now it’s going to continue, and it’s a really good thing for the world,” he said Wednesday.
