Brittney Griner Is On Her Way Back Home After Being Released From Russia Captivity In Prisoner Swap

Home for the holidays? WNBA star Brittney Griner is on her way back home after being held inside a Russian prison for the past 10 months.

As most of you know, she was arrested back in February after Russia officials found hash oil in her luggage. She was found guilty of drug smuggling charges and was sentenced to a ridiculous nine years.

Of course, Russia only sentenced her to nine years in order to set up a potential prisoner swap with the US.

And their move worked. After months of negotiations, Russia finally agreed to swap Griner for convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout, aka the Merchant of Death. Seems like a fair swap, huh? One person was convicted of conspiracy to kill Americans, and the other person had a vape with some hash oil in it.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the exchange took place at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. Griner will then be flown to a military medical facility in San Antonio for health evaluation, according to NBC News.

President Joe Biden announced the news on his Twitter account, writing, “She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.”

Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner.

She is safe.
She is on a plane.
She is on her way home. pic.twitter.com/FmHgfzrcDT

— President Biden (@POTUS) December 8, 2022

It’s great to see her coming back home, and we’re sure Russia feels just as warm and tingly to get their Merchant of Death back.

Don’t you just love even trades? It reminds me of that one time in elementary school when I traded a bologna sandwich for a pot of gold.