Three separate incidences have occurred in Norway over the last week in which six Russian citizens have been arrested. All three involved the operation of drones and photographing restricted Norwegian military and civilian infrastructure.
On October 11th, 2022, four Russian citizens, 1 woman and three men, were detained at a border crossing station near Mosjoen when their vehicle was inspected. Inside the vehicle, authorities found two large quadcopter drones and memory cards containing images of “restricted photography zones”. The four are scheduled to be charged under the Information Act and their court date has been set at the Hegeland District Court in the next seven days.
Also, a Russian-Israeli citizen was arrested on Sunday October 16th attempting to depart Norway for Russia after driving into the country via Finland. Two drones and memory cards were recovered in which photographs of an airport and military helicopters were recorded.
On Friday, October 14th, 2022 a Russian man was arrested in Tromso with large photographic gear, a drone, and memory cards. The man told police he had entered Norway through Storskog on Thursday, October 13th, 2022, and was on his way to the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard.
These arrests have not captured all of the actors operating drones in Norway considering airport operations in Stavanger and Haugesund were closed on Sunday, October 16th due to drone activities.
These incidents occurred under heighted security scrutiny after the September 26th NordStream bombing. The Norwegian government has deployed thousands of military members to critical infrastructure throughout the country. Norway is Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas since the Russian Federation curtailed its supply.
In addition to all the recent drone incidents and arrests, residents of the area in and around Kirkenes have long been subjected to so-called “jamming” of electronic signals, allegedly from the Russian side of the nearby border. Airline pilots have lost their GPS systems on approach for landing at the Kirkenes airport, while local residents have lost alarm- and mapping systems.
