MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, Lower Saxony's Ministry of Internal Affairs said it warned local police officers about the potential risk of being detained by the Russian Customs Service during private visits to the country after a series of similar incidents.
"I think that it is nonsense, because there have been no actions from the Russian side against anyone, and it might have been invented to slander Russia," Chepa told Sputnik.
According to information from the Lower Saxony's Interior Ministry, several German police officers were detained by the Customs Service in Russia's St. Petersburg during a cruise journey before being questioned about their official responsibilities and police activities in Lower Saxony. The incident was reported by the German Focus magazine, which said that St. Petersburg's customs employees suspected the detained police officers of espionage and asked for detailed information on their work in Lower Saxony police. The media outlet did not specify the date of the incident.