A Chechen mixed martial arts fighter was detained at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Monday after being found in possession of narcotics.
Salman Zhamaldaev, a world champion shoot boxer who trains at the Akhmat fight club operated by Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, was in transit to Grozny when he was stopped and searched by airport officials and law enforcement.
The news was first reported by Russia’s REN TV.
Zhamaldaev was reportedly detained after a 17-year-old drug dealer was arrested and named the fighter as one of his regular clients. The teenager provided law enforcement with enough information for them to detain the fighter.