.A past united state paratrooper and stone musician restrained in Russia greater than a year back on drug charges was penalized to 13 years in prison on Thursday, the Moscow court of law unit's press company mentioned.Michael Travis Leake, that faced the Moscow-based stone band Lovi Noch, was actually apprehended in June 2023 after prosecutors accused him of "coordinating a drug dealing organization involving youths.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Courtroom discovered him responsible of crimes connected to the purchase of prohibited narcotics, the courthouse's media service stated in a message on Telegram. He was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison colony.Leake was actually imprisoned together with Veronika Grabanchuk, another offender pronounced guilty of drug fees. Her connection to Leake was actually certainly not immediately crystal clear.Arrests of U.S. residents in Russia have increased in the last few years, in what Washington considers a Kremlin ploy to secure the release of Russians pronounced guilty abroad.Among other United States people held in Russian jails are actually past marines Robert Gilman as well as Paul Whelan, as well as writers Evan Gershkovich and also Alsu Kurmasheva.