Russian arrested in Norway in possession of drones and 4 terabytes of photos and videos
A Russian, arrested in possession of two drones and a mass of photos and videos shot in Norway, was remanded in custody on Friday as he tried to return to his country, Norwegian justice announced.
Vitali Rustanov, 50, was arrested in the Arctic on Wednesday at the Storskog border crossing, the only crossing point between Norway and Russia, as he attempted to return to Russia with two drones and digital storage equipment . From the court decision seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP), it appears that Mr. Roustanov, in Norway since August, admitted to having flown the drones ” in all the countries “. He had 4 terabytes of photos and videos, some of which were encrypted.
On Friday, a judge at the Vadso court placed him in pre-trial detention for two weeks, as requested by the police. ” There are (…) reason to believe that the defendant will try to escape prosecution if he is not remanded in custody”estimated the magistrate, arguing that the person concerned had Russian and Israeli identity papers.
Like other Western countries, Norway has banned Russian persons and entities from flying over its territory, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Violation of these penalties is punishable by up to three years in prison.
The episode comes as mysterious drone flights have been reported near Norway’s energy facilities, including near its offshore oil and gas platforms. neighbor have led the country, now the biggest supplier of gas to Europe after the reduction of Russian deliveries in the wake of the war in Ukraine, to strengthen security around its facilities.
According to Norwegian media, a new drone flight near the gas processing unit in Karsto (southwest) was observed on Thursday evening. The police, who have still not identified the person or persons responsible, have requested the help of the population.