Brittney Griner updates: WNBA star reunites with wife

Brittney Griner was swapped for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

ByJustin Fishel, Mark Osborne, Emily Shapiro, Patricio Chile, and Jon Haworth
Last Updated: December 16, 2022, 10:46 AM EST

The U.S. has swapped WNBA star Brittney Griner for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, according to a senior U.S. official.

The basketball star was taken into custody at a Moscow area airport in February in possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil, an illegal substance in Russia.

Griner pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in prison on Aug. 7. She appealed the sentence, but was quickly rejected in October.

Key headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 08, 2022, 8:34 AM EST

Who is Viktor Bout?

Griner has been swapped for the convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, according to a senior U.S. official.

Bout was arguably the world’s best-known illegal arms trafficker and his capture in 2008 at a hotel in Thailand came at the end of a nearly decadelong hunt by the U.S.

Suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout, center, is led by armed Thai police commandos as he arrives at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand in Oct. 5, 2010.
Apichart Weerawong/AP, FILE

Bout, 55, emerged as a kingpin in the global illegal arms trade during the 1990s, accused of fueling some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts, particularly in Africa. Sourcing weapons from the huge stockpiles of the collapsed Soviet Union, the Russian used a fleet of Soviet-built transport aircraft to supply vast quantities of arm, often circumventing international embargoes.

Read more about Bout's history, here.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Dec 08, 2022, 8:27 AM EST

Biden speaks to Griner aboard plane

President Joe Biden shared a photo of himself talking on the phone to Brittney Griner from the White House, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she was on a plane, safe and headed home.

He is also shown hugging Cherelle Griner, Brittney's wife.

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