Four Russian nationals were detained in Norway after being caught photographing sensitive material, police say.
A police spokesman, speaking to NRK TV, said authorities detained three men and one woman, driving a car with a Russian license plate, after catching them photographing a restricted area, according to TASS. The quartet claimed they are simply tourists, but police took them into custody after a vehicle search found them in possession of photographic equipment and material.
“[The four Russians] were detained after a vehicle search. A large amount of photographic equipment and a relatively large amount of photographic material was found,” the police spokesman told NRK TV.
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Authorities are investigating what the photographic material depicts, which they say is “something we know how to do,” the representative added.
Police didn’t say what the Russians were photographing, but NRK TV speculates that being they were caught in Mosjoen, it was likely to be the Drevjamoen camp, a logistics hub operated by Norway’s military, located about 18.6 miles from where the four were detained.
This is the third suspected espionage-related arrest of Russian nationals in Norway within the past week. On Tuesday, a Russian national was arrested at a border crossing after being caught with a drone filled with terabytes of photographic data, according to the Associated Press. He was arrested on the grounds that he had violated Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority’s Feb. 28 ban on all Russians operating any aircraft, including drones, in Norwegian airspace after Russia’s war in Ukraine began.
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Another Russian citizen was detained by police on Friday after allegedly being caught filming a Norwegian airport, including a Norwegian military helicopter, with a drone, according to the Washington Post.
The three incidents are not immediately thought to be related, per police.
“We’re seeing the consequences of the new security situation in Norway,” Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said at a news conference, according to Reuters. “We can’t rule out further cases.”
