Norwegian police on Monday announced the arrest of four Russians suspected of violating the ban on photography, after a series of similar arrests in an atmosphere of nervousness about the country’s strategic facilities, writes AFP.

The exact nature of the object or place that the four Russians – three men and one woman – were interested in is not disclosed.

The announcement comes days after the arrest in that country of two other Russians accused of two separate incidents of illegally flying drones and taking photos and/or videos over Norwegian territory.

Four Russians were detained on Thursday in the north of the country in a car with Russian registration, and the next day they were remanded in custody for 7 days, according to a report from the regional police.

They were previously spotted taking pictures in a no-take area in the Nordland region.

The four, who arrived from Finland in late September or early October, were arrested with a “significant” number of photographs but denied the charges, saying they were just tourists, police spokesman Gaute Ridmark told TV2.

Norway’s Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl declined to comment on the case, but said that “the pressure on Norway is increasing from an intelligence point of view.”

According to police, they were not equipped with a drone, unlike two other Russians arrested in recent days also in northern Norway.

The Scandinavian country, like several other Western countries, has banned Russians from flying drones or other means over its territory because of the military offensive in Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in Norway complained about the lack of information from the Norwegian authorities regarding this ban and considered this measure “unjustified” and “discriminatory”.

We note with concern the general psychosis that is spreading in Norway and affecting ordinary tourists,” she wrote on her Facebook account, asking for a “quick” and “impartial” review of their case so that they “can return to the country soon. “.

Violating the photography ban in Norway is punishable by one year in prison and three years in prison for violating the flyover ban.

Norway, Europe’s biggest gas supplier, has now stepped up security around its oil and gas facilities following mysterious drone flights – including near offshore platforms – and suspected sabotage of the nearby Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

The airspace around Stavanger, the kingdom’s oil capital, was briefly closed on Sunday after a new report of an unmanned aerial vehicle was seen in the skies over the southwestern region.