Russia holds anti-drugs official

By Steven Eke
BBC News

Russia's powerful internal security service arrested Mr Bulbov

The Russian security service has detained the second-in-command of the country's anti-drugs agency.

Alexander Bulbov was arrested at a Moscow airport along with three other senior officers of the agency.

The arrests come after Russia's new prime minister pledged to tackle what he called "corrosive corruption".

But many Russian observers say the arrests may instead be linked to a behind-the-scenes battle for power between various state agencies.

Mr Bulbov, who has the rank of lieutenant-general, was seized by officers of the FSB, the internal security service, as he disembarked from a plane at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.

Raids

At the same time, raids were conducted on the homes and businesses belonging to Mr Bulbov's family, as well as the other three members of the anti-drugs agency.

Investigators have not announced what charges they intend to bring but, through what appear to be deliberate leaks, it has become known that the men are suspected of illegal phone-tapping for commercial gain.

The arrests come after the recently appointed Prime Minister, Viktor Zubkov, set out a strong anti-corruption platform.

He described corruption as an "existential threat" to the Russian state.

Data from international anti-corruption bodies suggest that corruption has actually grown in scale and reach during Vladimir Putin's presidency.

However, attempts to tackle it have been thwarted by powerful, sometimes official, vested interests.

This has given the news of the high-profile arrests in Moscow a completely different tone.

It has emerged that Lt-Gen Bulbov was a lead investigator into alleged, large-scale corruption involving the FSB.

As a result of his investigations, dozens of officers in both the security service and the prosecutor general's office were dismissed or resigned.

There is growing speculation that the FSB, now arguably the most powerful state institution in Russia, has decided to avenge the humiliation inflicted on it by what became a very public investigation.