.A previous U.S. paratrooper as well as stone performer apprehended in Russia much more than a year ago on drug charges was penalized to thirteen years behind bars on Thursday, the Moscow court unit's media solution said.Michael Travis Leake, that overlooked the Moscow-based stone band Lovi Noch, was actually restrained in June 2023 after prosecutors indicted him of "organizing a medicine dealing organization entailing young people.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Courthouse found him guilty of crimes linked to the sale of illegal drugs, the court's press company said in a message on Telegram. He was actually penalized to thirteen years in a maximum-security prison swarm.Leake was incarcerated along with Veronika Grabanchuk, yet another defendant founded guilty of drug fees. Her relationship to Leake was actually not quickly crystal clear.Arrests of USA citizens in Russia have actually improved over the last few years, in what Washington views as a Kremlin maneuver to get the release of Russians convicted abroad.And many more American residents composed Russian jails are actually former marines Robert Gilman and also Paul Whelan, and also reporters Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva.