Overview

• Federal Customs Service agents detained an unnamed Russian-American woman at Vnukovo Airport after uncovering an American Colt Commander .45-caliber pistol in her suitcase
• Officers also found a concealed $138,000 bank cheque that she had not declared
• Russian authorities have opened a criminal case charging her with firearms smuggling under the country’s strict gun laws
• The woman told investigators that she did not know the items required declaration when traveling from the United States via Turkey
• Her detention is the latest example of U.S. citizens and dual nationals held on diverse charges in Russia, cases that have frequently ended in high-profile prisoner swaps