Russia reportedly frees American Kalob Byers, detained for alleged cannabis, as Trump seeks Ukraine deal

Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official who spoke with The Associated Press. The move appeared to be an effort to ease tension between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, which are expected to focus on the war in Ukraine and the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced gummies or marmalade in his baggage. It was unclear from Russian media reports exactly what the purportedly-laced food products were. 

According to the reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years.

Byers has been released from custody and is in the U.S. embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A U.S. official confirmed to the AP that Byers was released to the embassy late on Sunday evening. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters.

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Byers’ case to CBS News on Monday, but they noted the longstanding guidance against traveling to Russia, citing “the risk of detention for U.S. citizens” in the country and urging any Americans in Russia to “depart immediately.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expected “to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, “so certain events can be viewed in this context.”

Speaking to reporters Monday, however, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that, from the U.S. government’s perspective, the conversations in Riyadh would be focused largely on the Ukraine war.

It wasn’t immediately clear Monday whether Byers’ fiancee had also been released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges.

Arrests of American nationals in Russia have become increasingly common in recent years, with relations between Moscow and Washington sinking to Cold War lows over the war in Ukraine. Some have been released in prisoner exchanges. The most recent one included Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania imprisoned in Russia on charges similar to those Byers had faced.

Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school and handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. earlier this month in a swap that saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., returned to Russia.

The release of Fogel and Byers come as tension between Russia and the U.S. appears to ease.

President Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.