- An American who filmed with Anthony Bourdain has been arrested in Russia.
- Russian authorities accused Travis Leake of selling a stimulant drug.
Russian authorities arrested an American rock band manager on Saturday in Moscow, accusing him of selling the stimulant drug mephedrone, according to the Associated Press, Russian media, and other outlets.
Michael Travis Leake, who once filmed an episode of "Parts Unknown" in Russia alongside Anthony Bourdain, has lived in Russia for more than a decade, according to the AP.
CNN, which aired "Parts Unknown," said Leake is being detained until his trial in August.
Tensions between Russia and the United States have been high since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian authorities detained WNBA superstar Brittney Griner that month after airport officials found a vape with cannabis oil in her luggage when she arrived at the airport. She was detained for 10 months.
This weekend, a Moscow court posted to a telegram channel that a "former paratrooper" named "Travis Michael Leek" had been arrested for engaging in the narcotics business "through attracting young people," CNN reported.
No outlets have confirmed the Russian government's claim that Leake was a paratrooper.
CNN has since reached the man's mother, who said she's aware that Russian authorities arrested Leake and corrected the spelling of his name. Her son went by the name Travis, she said.
An Instagram account under the name Travis Leake identified him as the singer for a band called Lovi Noch, or "Seize the Night," according to the AP.
CNN said that Leake had been handpicked by Bourdain for the 2014 episode of "Parts Unknown" in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Leake's band wasn't famous, but he was known for being vocal about freedom of speech and oppression in Russia, according to CNN.
In a statement to the AP and CNN, the U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reports that a U.S. citizen had recently been arrested in Moscow.
When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the department "pursues consular access as soon as possible and works to provide all appropriate consular assistance," the agency told the AP.