Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner was taken into custody in Moscow and faces drug smuggling charges after being found with vape cartridges in her carry-on luggage.
Russian Federal Customs Service said that they detained a "professional basketball player, a member of the US National Basketball Association, a two-time Olympic basketball champion in the US team," identified as Griner by the Russian news agency TASS.
“Brittney Griner has the WNBA’s full support and our main priority is her swift and safe return to the United States," a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Saturday.
Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has spent nine seasons in the WNBA and has led the league in blocks in eight of those years. She has played for Yekaterinburg UMMC in Russia since 2015.
“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.
"As a U.S. citizen was passing through the green channel at Sheremetyevo Airport upon arriving from New York, a working dog from the Sheremetyevo Customs canine department detected the possible presence of narcotic substances in the accompanying luggage," the Russian Federal Customs Service said in a statement. "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."
Many women's professional basketball players decide to play in Russia during the WNBA's offseason for a chance to compete and take advantage of the high salaries overseas teams offer. Griner has made as much as $1.5 million a year in Russia, while she had a base salary of $215,000 last season for the Mercury.
Griner's detainment also comes in the backdrop of Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine and the increasing diplomatic strain between the United States and Russia.
Contributing: Associated Pres
