MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - The interior minister of the Russian east Siberian republic of Buryatia has been detained. "We confirm the fact of detention," a Russian Interior Ministry spokesman said without providing details.
According to the Vesti TV channel, Viktor Syusyura was arrested on Saturday evening in Buryatia's capital Ulad Ude as part of the investigation into a smuggling case, and his office and apartment were searched.
The case is addressed by the Russian Investigation Committee, which has been unavailable for comment yet.
Vesti said Syusyura was brought to Moscow's Lefortovo pre-trial detention center under heavy guard on Sunday morning, but the Federal Penitentiary Service's spokesman Valery Zaitsev said: "I know nothing of this yet."
A spokesman for Buryatia's Interior Ministry also said it knew nothing, and Irina Smolyak, a spokeswoman for Buryatia's government, said: "All comments will be available Monday."
