Police: Suspect arrested for drone flight over Sweden’s royal castle
Police said that a suspect is under investigation for violation of the protected airspace in Drottningholm Castle, Sweden’s royal family’s private residence outside Stockholm. Archive Photo by Mauritz Antin / EPA-EFE
January 31 (UPI) – A person has been arrested in connection with a series of mysterious drone flights that have been discovered in recent days over Sweden’s Royal Palace near Stockholm, the authorities state.
Swedish police announced that the person was arrested on Saturday by security guards at Drottningholm Castle, the private home for Sweden’s royal family, according to the national TV channel. Sweden Radio.
Police spokesman Daniel Wikdahl said that the suspect is under investigation for unauthorized access to protected spaces – the Swedish Royal Palace is prohibited for such activities.
The suspect is a Russian man in his 40s whose friends claim that he is an ordinary tourist who was not aware of the restrictions on flying drones in the area, the Swedish newspaper It was reported by Aftonbladet.
“He’s an ordinary tourist,” a friend told the newspaper. “I’m sure. I know he went to Sweden, but I do not know exactly where he was going.”
“I guess he did not know that the castle is a protected object, he must have flown there by mistake,” added another.
Reports on unexplained drone flights in Sweden multiplied this month as residents reported that they had seen the objects at the castle and at nuclear power plants, such as Forsmark’s nuclear power plant.
The Swedish military deployed patrols and helicopters to the station on January 14 after a drone observation there, said officials. Drones were also seen near Oskarshamn, Ringhals and Barsebäck’s facilities at about the same time.
The incidents occurred a day after the Swedish military announced that they had done so started patrolling of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea in the middle of increased tensions between NATO and Russia over Ukraine.