CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVNS) — A Russian-American medical doctor formerly from Charleston, West Virginia has been arrested in Armenia after being wanted on a 10-count federal indictment that accuses him of illegally distributing controlled substances.

According to a release from the U.S. Marshals Service, Dr. Alexander Vladimirovich Otellin, 57, is believed to have fled to Russia from the United States in order to avoid being prosecuted for his drug crimes. Otellin holds dual citizenship in the United States and Russia.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia, U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL Washington worked together to a Interpol Red Notice for Dr. Otellin, which is a request for an individual’s arrest that is sent to law enforcement agencies all across the globe.

The release said that Otellin entered the country of Armenia in September of 2023 and was taken into custody by Armenian authorities after they learned of the Red Notice and that there was an active warrant for his arrest.

Otellin was then placed into custody of U.S. Marshals and transported him back to the United States. He arrived at the Yeager International Airport in Charleston on April 20 and was placed into the South Central Regional Jail on no bond.

In 2021, the U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against 42 healthcare professionals across 31 districts in the United States. Otellin, who was a practicing psychiatry specialist in South Charleston, was among those charged. He allegedly distributed Adderall and Xanax illegally over the span of six months.

Otellin will continue to be held in the South Central Regional Jail while he waits for court proceedings.

The U.S. Marshals CUFFED Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia investigated this case. Armenian authorities worked with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs to properly extradite Otellin.