LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- British police detained and released two Russian men in an alleged plot to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin, a newspaper said Monday.
According to The Sunday Times, the two Russian nationals were seeking to pass information on Putin's travel arrangements abroad to Chechen separatists.
The two men, identified by Scotland Yard only as being 40 and 36 years old, tried to make contact with Chechen rebels through Alexander Litvinenko, a former Federal Security Service officer and a political refugee in London, the paper said. Instead, Litvinenko turned the men over to the police.
According to the Sunday Times story, Litvinenko recognized a former FSB colleague in London earlier this month. He also believed the man was an undercover FSB agent.
The two men were arrested Oct. 12 but released Friday, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said. She declined to comment on whether investigators contacted the Russian authorities or about Russian reaction to the case.
