U.S. Man Arrested in Russia Over Cannabis-Laced Candy Released, Mother Says

 

Netherlands – The Moscow Times, February 17, 2025

A U.S. citizen arrested by Russian customs officers for alleged drug smuggling has been released and is set to return home soon, his mother said Sunday.

Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport after arriving from Istanbul with cannabis-infused marmalade. Byers claimed the sweets were prescribed by a doctor in the United States to treat his seizures.

His mother, Tony Shuler, said he was held without medication for eight days, during which he suffered a “massive seizure.” On Sunday, she announced that Russian authorities had released him.

“He is now in American custody and at the U.S. Embassy waiting for his flight home,” Shuler wrote on Facebook.

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