MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Second General Jurisdiction Court has reduced American citizen Robert Woodland’s twelve-and-a-half-year drug sentence by three years, the court's press service told TASS.

"The court has decided to change Woodland's sentence. It orders to reduce the defendant's sentence from 12 1/2 years to 9 1/2 years in prison," the press service said, noting that the court took into account the American's partial admission of guilt.

Robert Woodland, 32, a resident of the Perm Region holding both US and Russian passports, was found guilty under Part 3 of Article 30 and Part 4 of Article 228.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (attempted illegal sale of narcotic drugs using information and telecommunications networks committed by an organized group on a large scale) and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in a strict regime penal colony.

The court found that in April 2023, Woodland was a member of a criminal group involved in the sale of narcotic drugs. The ringleader and other members of the gang were tried separately. On orders from the group’s boss, Woodland went to a forested area of the Mytishchi park to retrieve a package of narcotic drugs. His intention was to resell the drugs by placing them in hidden areas for end consumers. He was arrested while trying to hide the drugs.