The US State Department has designated WNBA player Brittney Griner as illegally being held in Russia.

Her case is now being handled by the office of US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) Roger Carstens.

The SPEHA office is in charge of coordinating and leading the government’s diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Americans who have been unfairly incarcerated abroad.

They were instrumental in negotiating Trevor Reed’s release from Russia.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, “When it comes to our efforts to free Americans, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Ambassador Carstens, he will go anywhere, he will talk to anyone if it means that we’re able to come home with an American, to reunite that American with her or his family.”

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star for the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested in February at a Moscow airport.

She was charged with smuggling considerable amounts of a narcotic substance.