A former US diplomat who turned into a teacher has now been sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison after he was caught smuggling drugs inside his luggage at the airport.
According to local media reports, the ex-diplomat was called to the side by airport officials after they noticed something fishy inside his luggage. And that’s when their instincts were right and there appeared to be a large scale of narcotics located inside tiny lens boxes that he thought no one would ever find out about.
But the crime was huge and Marc Fogel knew that he would have to pay a hefty fine in the end after being detailed at Moscow’s airport in the year 2021.
Soon after that, he was charged with smuggling and carrying a huge amount of narcotics. He was later found guilty of storing and then also producing those drugs, making his crime even worse and his punishment in Russia more severe.
He is now said to be the third American serving his time in Russian prisons, the other two being Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
The punitive sentence by the Russians is being upon as move by a smart move by Russia to hold legal hostages for potential swap deals that may be thought about in the near future.
Britney Griner made headlines previously for being a WNBA player while Paul Whelan was an ex-marine.
The prison is stated to be one of ‘maximum security’. But his lawyers tried to argue on his behalf, adding how the marijuana being used was solely for medical purposes as he suffered from back problems after undergoing spinal surgery.
The exact amount of drugs obtained was stated to be 17 grams or a little more than half an ounce.
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