Naked policeman arrests man in Swedish sauna

Officer praised for 'keeping his head cool even when it was hot'

A Swedish police officer arrested a fugitive after encountering him in a sauna (Getty Images)

A wanted criminal's life on the lam came to end after he was spotted by a police officer while they were both naked in a sauna.

The officer was enjoying the steam room on his day off when he noticed through the haze that the man sweating beside him was a fugitive who had gone on the run after he was convicted of drug offences and attempted assault.

“By a coincidence, and rather amusingly, they both recognised each other in the sauna,” Christoffer Bohman, deputy police chief in the Stockholm district of Rinkeby, told Swedish state broadcaster SVT.

He added: “It’s easier to take action when you have your colleagues with you, and all your tools and equipment. This was as stripped-down as it gets – in more ways than one.”

Mr Bohman praised his junior colleague for keeping “his head cool even when it was hot in a potentially dangerous situation”.

In a Facebook post, he said the fugitive had been “hunted for a long time” after failing to turn up to be sentenced for his crimes, which included an attempted attack on a public servant.

The post on Rinkeby police’s page was headlined “Naked Arrest”.

It was signed off: “We are everywhere. Even if you do not see us, we are there.”