"He advised his friends how not to love Russia." In Moscow, for the sale of drugs, musician Travis Lick from the United States was arrested - he collaborated with groups of Louna and "cockroaches!"

Last week, the Khamovnican Court of Moscow arrested 51-year-old US citizen Michael Travis Lika. He is accused of a large -scale drug drug. Russian television channels argue that the “young persons” helped in Mephedron Lika, which the musician either blackmail or asked to make bookmarks in exchange for a drug. The face has been living in Russia since 2010-all these years it has been cooperating with local rock bands, such as “cockroaches!”, Louna and “slot”. "Mediazona" says that it is known about the biography of the musician and his detention.

On the afternoon of June 7, REN TV announced the detention of American musician Michael Travis Leake , who “planted drugs on drugs”. The source of the channel claimed that the 51-year-old US citizen “blackmail the girls and forced them to make bookmarks,” and in his apartment the security forces found scales, ziplok, island and “substance of unknown origin”.

Later, Izvestia published a photograph of the American passport of Lika, his picture in the corridor of some institution and a screenshot from the video recording video. On it, a man in his underpants and a T -shirt lies with tied hands on the floor, in front of his face - somewhat dumped in a pile of dildos of different colors and sizes.

In the evening of the same day, REN TV reported that the Khamovnican Court of Moscow arrested a “Russian woman who made bookmarks with drugs by decree of the American musician.” On the court’s website you can find a card dated June 7 on the arrest of Grabanchuk V. R. under an article on the sale of drugs on a large scale, and in the friends of Travis Lika in VKontakte-22-year-old Veronika Grabanchuk. In June last year, the girl wrote that she works as a bark and conducts master classes on rhetoric and oratory.

“Nika bar”, “Veronika Bar/waiter”, “Veronica Waiter” - in a similar way, Grabanchuk is recorded at once by several users of the GetContact application. The court forbade the decision to publish the decision to arrest the girl, citing a list of texts of judicial acts that are not subject to posting on the Internet; It includes, for example, decisions affecting the security of the state.

The next day, the Izvestia correspondent went to the panel high -rise building three kilometers from the Molodezhnaya metro station, not far from the Moscow Ring Road. Lik rented an apartment in this house two years ago. The journalist asked the American neighbor whether he spent the "parties" whether there was "noise, din." The woman replied that “she didn’t hear parties,” but “fought” with Travis because he loved to listen to music loudly. When asked whether the American neighbor saw "in the state of appearance that he was as if under something," she answered: "Well, he was always very tent."

A few hours later, the same Izvestia posted a video of the detention. At least four security officials in masks and machine guns burst into the musician’s apartment, the face screams heart -rendingly, as if he was painful; The security forces twist their hands behind him and lay on the floor.

“This morning is a US citizen Michael Travis Lick, who has long settled in Russia and hunted drugs here, will remember for a long time. At the door of his apartment, it was never so crowded, so many people who wanted to wake up - in masks, helmets and body armor, ” commented on the video published on the same day the journalist of the NTV television channel. In the material with the name “American rocker, I planted young Muscovites on Mephedron” The correspondent mocked: “The whole house is literally stuffed with sex toys, literally for every taste and color. But this is more likely so, a small detail. ”

Both Izvestia and NTV also published a short video from the interrogation of an American in a suspect room. The American gives part of the answers to standard questions in English and in Russian. When asked about guilty, he answers that "there is no fault."

“I was not officially accused, I don’t know why I'm here. I cannot believe what I was accused of. I don't understand what, ”he says.

According to NTV, later the face changed the decision and “told the police how to organize a small but profitable business on the sale of Mephedron in Russia.” From the plot it follows that the face has been engaged in drug trafficking for three years. At the same time, he had his own “assistants”, who “for a dose or two left a cache with packages in the capital” and “promoted his business on the Internet”-according to the security forces, at least two “young people”. One of the “assistants”, the journalist claimed, was allegedly detained at the Beijing Hotel next to the Mayakovskaya metro station and “pointed out” at Lika during interrogation. The correspondent did not name the name of the detained - it is unclear whether she had in mind Veronica Grabanchuk.

The Khamovnican Court announced the arrest of Lik himself only on June 10, three days after Ren TV told about his detention. Lika was accused under the same article as Grabanchuk. The press service of the court clarified TASS that the musician "is accused of organizing a business sales business with the involvement of young people." On the same day, the news of the arrest of Lik was shown at Russia-24.

Travis Lik is not the first person involved in the criminal case of drugs against a US citizen in Russia. In 2022, the courtappointed 14 years of colony to the former American diplomat Mark Vogel, who in the baggage found cartridges for vape with cannabis oil and marijuana.

In addition, in August last year, the Khimkinsky City Court of the Moscow Region appointed the American basketball player Britney Grainer 9 years of a general regime colony. She was found guilty of storing and smuggling drugs. In December, she was exchanged for Russian Viktor Buta.

After the journalist Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia on charges of espionage, the agency noted that today, in Russian colonies, “from interesting [for] USA” are only a convicted man in the case of espionage, former marine corboreula and ex-employee of the USA Embassy Fogel.

"He and his friends spoke very loudly about state oppression in Russia." Who is Travis Lick

Talking about the biography of Lika, and NTV and Russia-24 will focus on the fact that he served in the American landing forces, and has been living in Russia since 2010. “And for some reason he visited Ukraine-starting with the famous events of 2014. I found even a comrade -in -arms and wife there. And in Moscow, in addition to in vain attempts to enter his name in the history of the capital's punk scene, he was engaged in the promotion of music groups and, possibly, like a real American, advised his friends how not to love Russia, ” said NTV correspondent.

Mother Lika Glend Garcia, who recognized him from the video from the detention, told ABC News that he was born in California, served in his youth in the US Air Force, and lived in Moscow, "working in two Russian rock groups, as well as teaching English." The last time she talked with her son on her mother's day - May 14. Garcia said that she was “concerned about his well -being,” since they usually communicated every two weeks.

In all social networks, the face mentions his group - “Catch the Night”. But, judging by the number of subscribers on the pages of the team, she did not use success. The face himself rarely went on stage, rather as an invited artist. So, in 2020, he performed several songs along with the leader of the Naiv group Alexander Chacha Ivanov at his birthday, and the next time he spoke with his group only in March 2023.

The LinkedIn profile indicates that since 2011 it has been the producer of the LOUNA rock band, since 2013 he began to cooperate with the Tarakans! "Group, and in 2015 he stopped cooperation with the Slot group. As examples of work, he mentions English -speaking songs: “Behind a Mask” with Louna and “Russian Democrazy” group “Cockroaches!”.

“Groups from the Moscow rock scenes came to him so that he would write songs in English or edit their texts,” said CNN ex-producer Daria Tarasova, who worked in 2014 on the crew of Parts Unknown, leading Anthony Burds Unknown , in which the face appeared briefly.

Then, impressed by protests in Russia, the famous American leading Burden came to Moscow to show the atmosphere in the city against the backdrop of the beginning of the war in the Donbass. He met with a face in the 16 Tons club at the Louna concert. With them was the guitarist of the group Ruben Kazaryan. When an audio equipment begins to fail at the crew, the face seriously says: “This is a KGB, they block your signal. Believe it or not, they do it. I am quite sure that you have someone on your tail. ” Kazaryan says that in Russia only the “facade” is visible, behind which everything is fine: “There are nominally there are courts, elections, but in the end they do not work.” “What prevents the Russians from saying freely? Formally - nothing. But in reality - many factors, ”he explains.

The face, as an example of inconspicuous pressure, talks about the MTV show about protest musicians, in one of the episodes of which Louna was supposed to star. At the last moment, when the group had already written a song for the soundtrack for the series, he received a letter from the producer of the show that the episode about Russia was deleted "due to political pressure."

“It was a documentary series about musicians who performed, risking life, confronts between vicious power and corruption by the government. Nevertheless, the Russian government was able to control what the Americans would see on their TVs on the screens of their TVs, ”he was furiously indignant.

“The group was not so famous, but Travis and his friends spoke very loudly about freedom of speech and state oppression in Russia. Burden really liked this interview, ”said CNN producer Tarasova.

According to her, Travis was a "showman", "very eloquent and loved Russia." The last time she talked with the face in 2018, he seemed to her “depressed and upset”.

“But he would never have done what he is accused of. He is an American who is in Russia, and he perfectly understands the situation. I am surprised that he remained after the start of the war, although it is very risky, ”says Tarasova.

Editor: Maria Klimova