The arrest comes two weeks after reports of several drone flights (including one potentially military) of unknown origin over Swedish nuclear power plants and other sensitive locations.
A man suspected of having flown over the residence of the king of Sweden with a drone has been arrested near Stockholm, Swedish authorities announced on Monday, faced with reports of drones of unknown origin flying over several sensitive places in the country. According to several Swedish media, the suspect is a Russian in his forties, but the authorities have not confirmed.
The man was arrested around 1:00 p.m. (midday GMT) on Sunday near Drottningholm Palace, the residence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia west of Stockholm, police said. “We are not confirming the nationality of this person. We are just confirming the arrest of a man,” Stockholm police spokesman Ola Österling told AFP.
A “military drone” reported in mid-January
The man is suspected of having violated the law on the protection of sensitive places. The arrest comes two weeks after reports of several drone flights of unknown origin over Swedish nuclear power plants and other sensitive locations. The investigation was partly entrusted to the Swedish internal intelligence agency Säpo.
Swedish police said over the weekend that they could not yet prove that drones had been deployed by a foreign power, despite nearly 200 reports. A “military drone” was also reported in mid-January, flying over Swedish parliament and government buildings as well as the royal palace in central Stockholm.
Against the backdrop of tensions with Russia around Ukraine, Sweden reinforced its vigilance posture in mid-January and deployed reinforcements and armored vehicles on the strategic island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea.
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