MARBURG, Germany, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A Russian couple suspected of spying in Germany for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service for more than 20 years has been detained, reports said.
German Special Forces have detained the husband and wife in the German cities of Marburg and Balingen, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported Saturday, RIA Novosti said. But it was unclear which was detained where.
The husband and wife have denied the allegations, Deutsche Welle reported.
Deutsche Welle said the couple had documents stating they were from Latin America but had Austrian passports. The husband was apparently born in Argentina, his wife, in Peru, but German Special Forces were unable to prove their birthplaces.
Authorities did not give their names.
The German broadcaster said the woman was detained while "receiving a coded radio message."
German magazine Der Spiegel reported the couple was alleged to have been spying in Germany for more than two decades.
German magazine Focus reported the couple had contacted Anna Chapman, one of 10 Russian nationals arrested by U.S. law enforcement agents in June 2010 on suspicion of being part of an espionage ring spying for Russia, RIA Novosti reported.
The Russian nationals were tried, then flown out of the United States in an exchange for four people convicted of spying in Russia for the West.
Neither Russia's Foreign Ministry nor its Foreign Intelligence Service confirmed or commented on the accusations that the couple was spying for Russia, RIA Novosti said.
