An American songwriter is going to spend the next 13 years rotting away in a Russian prison after a court sentenced him for working as a drug mule on Thursday. The musician, Travis Leake, allegedly tried to push over 40 grams of a narcotic known as mephedrone (also known as “meow-meow”) with an accomplice four different times before Russian investigators arrested him. Leake pleaded not guilty to the drug smuggling charges following his arrest in June of last year. Russian prosecutors snatched 1.6 grams of meow-meow from his home, in addition to MDMA tablets, frequently referred to as Ecstasy. Leake and his accomplice will both report to Russian penal colonies, according to Russian state media. The songwriter is one of roughly a dozen American nationals currently held in Russian detention, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, whose closing arguments in his trial are due on Friday.
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