Vehicles move on a main road in Beijing August 20, 2007. REUTERS/Jason Lee

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police arrested a man who claimed to be a “secret agent” after a high speed chase in pursuit of a car with a blue flashing light on its roof.

Police in the southern city of Fuerth caught up with the man after he raced past them, ignored signals to pull over, and ran a red light as they gave chase.

Smelling strongly of alcohol, the 44-year-old whispered only that he was “one of them,” on a secret mission and belonged to the Federal Crime Office -- a body similar to the FBI -- local police said. A check revealed he had no such credentials.

“After matters were taken care of, the would-be ‘Mr. Bond’ was again released,” police said in a statement on Thursday.

A local police spokesman said the man in reality had “a normal job” and declined to explain his nighttime sortie. He faces charges for a variety of driving offences.