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(Image: Dagens Nyheter)

Is this the man at the centre of an international espionage plot that seems better suited to a Hollywood thriller than every day life?

With reports of mystery submarines, an 'enigmatic man in black', Russian subs and large-scale military mobilisation, this is the sort of spy game that usually never reach the surface of public consciousness.

We have already seen a grainy photo - issued by the Swedish Defence Ministry - which is said to be a Russian submarine peeking out the Baltic Sea around 30 miles from Stockholm.

But the latest gripping installment of detail is the photograph above, purporting to show the enigmatic 'man in black' at the centre of the row.

Speculation mounted on the internet that a submarine could have been sent to pick up or drop off a Russian spy.

The Swedish website DE claimed to have found a picture of a mysterious man in black who appeared to be wading off the Swedish island of Korso.

The photo was sourced by Swedish website DE, which claims it was snapped by a local. It is currently unverified.

The whole affair echoes the plot of the film ‘The Hunt for Red October’, which starred Sean Connery.

Sweden remains on full alert as it searches for the Russian sub, which it is thought got into difficulty while rendezvousing with the 'spy'.

There is increasing tension with Russia among the Nordic and Baltic states - most of them EU members - over Moscow’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis.

Finland last week accused the Russian navy of interfering with a Finnish environmental research vessel in international waters.

The Swedish military has said information about suspicious activity came from a trustworthy source, without providing details, and that more than 200 military personnel were involved in the search.

The hunt is believed to have began after a radio transmission in Russian on an emergency frequency.

More encrypted radio traffic from a point in the archipelago and the enclave of Kaliningrad, home to the Russian Baltic fleet’s headquarters, was intercepted.

The Russian Defence Ministry said yesterday that there were no emergency situations in the Baltic involving its vessels.

“Russian Navy ships and submarines are fulfilling their duties in the world ocean waters in accordance with the plan,” a ministry spokesman said.

“There has been and there are no extraordinary, let alone emergency, situations involving Russian warships.”

Countries in the Baltic Sea region have become increasingly worried about Russia’s military ambitions since Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in March.

Last month, Sweden said two Russian fighter bombers entered its air space, calling the intrusion a “serious violation” and sending a protest to Moscow’s ambassador.

Ships, helicopters and troops from an amphibious unit as well as the home guard combed the search area. The forces include HMS Visby, a corvette that has stealth technology and equipment for anti-submarine warfare.

“We still consider the information we received as very trustworthy,” Captain Jonas Wikstrom, head of operations for the search, said.

“I, as head of operations, have therefore decided to increased the number of units in the area.”

In 1981, a Soviet submarine known under its Swedish designation U137 was stranded deep inside Swedish waters not far from a major naval base in the neutral country.