Norway’s secret service announced on Tuesday that it had arrested a Russian spy posing as a Brazilian scientist—the latest in a series of arrests of Russian nationals allegedly connected to the country’s foreign intelligence program.

A spokesman for the Norwegian Police Security Service, or PST, claimed that the man had worked for the Arctic University of Norway in Tromso, the country’s northernmost major city. Although the man has not been publicly identified, Norway’s NRK public broadcaster reported that he was a man in his thirties or forties who had held a research position at Tromso University from the fall of 2021 until his arrest. The PST’s statement suggested that the man was a Brazilian rather than a Russian citizen.

During his time at Tromso University, PST deputy chief Hedvig Moe claimed that the man had acquired “a network and information about Norway’s policy in the northern region.” Although she noted that the information obtained was probably not critical to Norway’s national security, she stressed that the Norwegian government was nonetheless “worried that the information could be misused by Russia,” with potentially negative consequences for Norway and its allies.

“We believe he represents a threat to [Norway’s] fundamental national interests,” Moe said, adding that the PST had requested his expulsion from the country. Norwegian justice minister Enger Mehl claimed that the man’s residence permit in the country would be revoked, clearing the way for his deportation. However, the man reportedly remains under arrest in the country pending further legal proceedings.

The Russian government has not commented on the incident. Russia’s embassy in Oslo denied employing the man, characterizing his prosecution as frivolous and comparing it to other alleged instances of “Russophobia” against Russian citizens and fishing vessels in or near Norway.

Since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, several Russian citizens within Norway have been arrested or deported on suspicion of espionage. In mid-October, four Russian nationals were detained after reportedly taking photographs of the country's sensitive government and military facilities, a crime under Norwegian law. All four were later released. The same week, the son of a former director of Russia’s state-owned railway company was arrested after he flew a camera-equipped drone over Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, violating a new law explicitly prohibiting Russian citizens from doing so.

Over the past weekend, two other Russians were arrested after taking pictures of military facilities in northern Norway, which shares a land border with Russia’s Murmansk province.

Trevor Filseth is a current and foreign affairs writer for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.