The court upheld the sentence of a US citizen for smuggling weapons to Moscow

The Solntsevsky District Court of Moscow sentenced US citizen Tatyana Coyle to 3 years and 3 months in prison for smuggling firearms.

Tatyana Coyle arrived on a flight from the United States to Moscow with a transfer in Istanbul, and while going through customs control at Vnukovo airport, a Colt automatic pistol with three magazines was discovered in her luggage.

The defense appealed the verdict, but the judicial panel for criminal cases of the Moscow City Court left it unchanged, recognizing it as legal and justified.

MOSCOW, August 30 - RIA Novosti. The Solntsevsky District Court of Moscow sentenced US citizen Tatyana Coyle to 3 years and 3 months in prison for smuggling firearms, which she tried to smuggle into Moscow through Vnukovo airport, information is posted in the file of the capital's courts of general jurisdiction.

The court found that on June 12, 2025, Coyle, who also has Russian citizenship, arrived on a flight from the United States to Moscow with a transfer in Istanbul. While going through customs control at the capital's Vnukovo airport, a Colt automatic pistol with three magazines was found in her luggage. Expert conclusions confirmed that the weapon is in good working order and suitable for firing shots.

“To find Tatyana Timofeevna Coyle guilty of committing a crime under Part 1.1 of Article 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and to impose a sentence of imprisonment for 3 (three) years and 3 (three) months, to be served in a general regime correctional colony,” the court decision says.

According to the verdict, the defendant partially admitted guilt. Coyle claimed that she did not know about the need to declare weapons when entering Russia, since she had not been in Russia since leaving in 2003. According to her, Turkish Airlines did not warn about the need to declare weapons in the Russian Federation. The verdict also notes that the pistol was discovered during customs inspection, after which the weapon was seized.

As mitigating circumstances, the court took into account the partial admission of guilt, the state of health of the defendant and her relatives, as well as positive characteristics; no aggravating circumstances were established.