[BRIEF] Russia is denying Estonia access to an Estonian police officer who is now being detained in Russia on charges of “gathering intelligence.” Estonia claims that Russians entered Estonian territory and took the man by force.
The police officer, Eston Kohver, was detained Friday near the borders of Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, in the Pskov region.
Kohver carried a Taurus gun and ammunition, the equivalent of $6,500, and equipment capable of covert recording, according to Russian sources.
Kohver was working in cross-border crime investigation.
According to Tallinn, Kohver was not apprehended within Russia. Rather, Russians took Kohver at gunpoint from Estonian territory. The Russians used smoke grenades and radio jammers in the operation, Estonian sources reported.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that an agent recruitment operation being conducted by the Estonian Interior Ministry was not disrupted.
By Sid Douglas