Russia Says Latvian Weapons-Smuggling Ring Broken Up

Russia’s Federal Security Service says it has broken up a ring that was smuggling firearms into the country from Latvia.

In this handout photo provided by the FSB, acronym for Russian Federal Security Service, a man claimed by FSB to be Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, sits in the FSB offices in Moscow, early Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Russia's security services say they have caught a U.S. diplomat who they claim is a CIA agent in a red-handed attempt to recruit a Russian agent. Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, was carrying special technical equipment, disguises, written instructions and a large sum of money when he was detained overnight, the FSB said in a statement Tuesday. Fogle was handed over to U.S. embassy officials, the FSB, said. AP Photo/FSB Public Relations Center

MOSCOW— Russia’s Federal Security Service says it has broken up a ring that was smuggling firearms into the country from Latvia.

The service, known by its initials FSB, said in a statement Thursday that more than 30 weapons were seized in a raid in the Pskov region, which borders Latvia and Estonia. The weapons included submachine guns and carbines, the statement said.

The FSB says one Latvian citizen and eight Russians were arrested in the case.

The arrests come amid heightened tension between Latvia and Russia. Latvia and its former Soviet Baltic neighbors are unsettled by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and alleged supply of arms and troops to separatist rebels in Ukraine’s east. Russia in turn criticizes Latvia for language laws it claims effectively ban the use of Russian.