.A former USA paratrooper as well as rock artist apprehended in Russia much more than a year back on medicine charges was penalized to thirteen years behind bars on Thursday, the Moscow court of law body's media service mentioned.Michael Travis Leake, that faced the Moscow-based rock band Lovi Noch, was confined in June 2023 after district attorneys accused him of "coordinating a drug handling company including youngsters.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Court discovered him responsible of criminal activities linked to the purchase of unlawful drugs, the courtroom's media solution said in a blog post on Telegram. He was sentenced to thirteen years in a maximum-security penitentiary nest.Leake was imprisoned alongside Veronika Grabanchuk, an additional offender pronounced guilty of drug charges. Her connection to Leake was actually not instantly crystal clear.Arrests of USA residents in Russia have enhanced recently, in what Washington considers a Kremlin maneuver to safeguard the launch of Russians pronounced guilty abroad.To name a few United States residents kept in Russian jails are actually former marines Robert Gilman and also Paul Whelan, along with journalists Evan Gershkovich as well as Alsu Kurmasheva.