Russian man banned from Sweden for life over bomb threats attempts return to pick up pet cat

The unnamed man, who was banned from the country in 2014, was detained upon arrival in Lernarkcen

The unnamed man said he returned to Sweden to pick up his beloved pet from a cat hotel in Borås. (AFP/Getty)

A Russian man banned for life from Sweden for making bomb threats was stopped by border officials in Malmö as he tried to return to retrieve his cat.

The 52-year-old, who reportedly has hijacking-related convictions in Russia, was stopped at Lernarkcen, on the Swedish side of the Øresund bridge which connects Denmark and Sweden.

The as-yet-unnamed man is currently being detained in Malmö on charges of breaking the country's foreign citizen laws.

The man stated that he had returned to pick up his beloved pet, which is currently being accommodated at a cat hotel in Borås, reports Sydsvenskan.

The cat was left stranded in 2014 when its owner was arrested in connection with a bomb threat he made towards a flight from St. Petersburg to Helsinki.

The man was detained after he tried to enter the country on 12 October.

"This is about a shy cat that is scared of strange people, so we must find a solution to this,” the man's lawyer, Richard Schönmeyr, said to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.