Two foreign nationals have been arrested after trespassing at the Swedish Armed Forces' military base at Muskö without permission, Aftonbladet tabloid daily reported.
Warning shots were fired, admittedly a rare occasion in the military area, whereupon the guards had to interfere and seize the intruders. Both are now arrested, and suspected of unauthorised access to protected objects.
"It's far from a common occasion that security guards fire warning shots. Generally, people have respect for protected military objects", Magnus Jirlind, Swedish Armed Forces communications officer, told the daily newspaper.
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The intrusion was detected at one o'clock AM Sunday morning. The intruders were first identified as 'two foreign nationals'. Later, Aftonbladet's sources revealed it was an Englishman and an Belgian. By their own admission, they thought the base was abandoned.
"There's a big fence before you get into the base itself. They have been inside the area when the security guard has taken notice of them," Magnus Jirlind told Aftonbladet.
The Muskö base is embedded in solid rock in Haninge municipality south of Stockholm and is classified as a protected military object. It was founded in 1969, and included dry docks, workshops and offices. In 2004, the Swedish government decided that the Navy should only have one base. Since then, most naval operations were concentrated on Karlskrona in Blekinge County in southern Sweden, and therefore the Muskö base began to be dismantled in 2005. The dry docks, however, are still being used for the maintenance of the Navy's vessels. According to Magnus Jirlind, there are plans to expand Muskö's activities.
Staying without a permit on a protected object may be punishable with fines or imprisonment.