A RUSSIAN investigative journalist, who scrutinises Moscow city officials for corruption for independent website Meduza, has been charged with drug dealing by police.

Ivan Golunvo, 36, was detained in central Moscow on his way to meet a source when illegal drugs were found in his backpack. Meduza said in a statement Golunvo was beaten in detention and denied medical tests which would show he hadn’t handled drugs. His lawyer claims he is being framed.

Moscow police deny the accusation saying it “do not correspond to reality”.

The website said: “We are convinced that Ivan Golunov is innocent. What’s more, we have reasons to believe that Golunov is being persecuted for his journalism.”

Golunov rose to prominence in recent years because of his corruption investigations into Moscow’s city government and the crime-ridden funeral market.

ELSEWHERE football star Neymar gave evidence in Brazil yesterday in a cybercrime investigation linked to a rape allegation against him.

It was reported earlier that Neymar was subpoenaed to speak to authorities about his social media posting of images and messages of the accuser, without her authorisation.

Model Najila Trindale, 26, accused the footballer of raping her in Paris on May 15. Her lawyer said Ms Trindale is suffering “threats, she is taking medicines, she has problems sleeping” since the footballer posted her messages.

Neymar, who plays for Paris St-Germain, denies wrongdoing. He said: “I only want to thank the support and messages that everybody sent.”

MEANWHILE an explosion ripped through two apartment buildings in the southern city of Linkoping, Sweden, yesterday with unconfirmed reports of people with minor injuries.

The blast blew out windows and destroyed balconies in the buildings, as police deployed a bomb squad to the area after the blast. The cause is unknown with minor injuries reported.

AND finally, both the US and Russian militaries have accused each other of unsafe actions, after an American missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer came within 165ft of each other in the East China Sea.

The US 7th Fleet said: “We consider Russia’s actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional and not in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (Colregs), ‘Rules of the Road’, and internationally recognised maritime customs.”

The Russian military accused the US of making a dangerous manoeuvre, saying its navy sent a radio message in protest.