Former employee of U.S. embassy in Moscow Fogel sentenced to 14 years in prison in Russia for drug smuggling

MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) - The Khimki City Court has sentenced former employee of the United States embassy in Moscow Marc Fogel to 14 years in a high-security penal colony for drug smuggling.

"On June 16, 2022, the Khimki City Court of the Moscow region found U.S. citizen Marc Fogel guilty of committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 229.1 (drug smuggling), Part 2 of Article 228 (illegal acquisition, possession, transportation, manufacture, and processing of narcotic drugs) of the Russian Criminal Code, and sentenced him to 14 years' imprisonment to be served in a high-security penal colony," the court said.

The court noted that Fogel pleaded guilty in full.

As reported, Fogel was detained in possession of drugs in Sheremetyevo on August 15, 2021. He was charged with smuggling and illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, production, and processing of narcotic substances, psychotropic substances or their analogues.

Fogel, a former employee of the U.S. embassy in Moscow, was working as a teacher at the Anglo-American School. Same as his wife, he had diplomatic status until May 2021. According to a theory of investigation, he might have used the diplomatic status to arrange the smuggling of drugs into Russia for distribution at the Anglo-American School.

The police later released a video of the searches conducted at the Anglo-American School in Moscow as part of the investigation.

The school is managed by the embassies of the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada via the school council.