Siberian gets five years for smuggling steroids from Thailand.

A court in Irkutsk in eastern Siberia has sentenced wrestler Igor Cherkesov in absentia to five years in prison for bring prohibited medicine from Thailand, the regional department of the Federal Drug Control Service reported on Tuesday. The service has established that Cherkesov, who holds a mastery certificate in Greco-Roman wrestling, purchased steroids and testosterone drugs at drugstores in Thailand for personal use and also for other athletes. He was detained at Irkutsk Airport for bringing in prohibited medicine in February 2010 and remained in custody until September when he was released on pledge not to leave Irkutsk. However, "Cherkesov fled in June 2012 and has been placed on the federal wanted list," the Federal Drug Control Service's department said. Cherkesov's case was heard in absentia and the court sentenced him to five years in a low-security prison camp. The athlete has two small children and a civil wife in Thailand.