Russia claims it detained an Estonian policeman for "intelligence gathering", but Tallinn has accused Moscow of abducting him.

The Estonian officer, Eston Kohver, was placed behind bars after a Moscow court approved his arrest, heightening tensions between European Union member Estonia and its powerful neighbour.

Russian state television on Saturday showed the grim-faced and handcuffed policeman being led into court by masked security officers.

Russia's FSB security service said in a statement it had detained Kohver in north-western Russia, close to the Estonian border, on Friday as he attempted to carry out an "undercover operation".

But prosecutors in Talinn said Kohver was abducted at gunpoint from Estonian territory by Russians who detonated a smoke grenade and jammed radio communications. They said he had been investigating cross-border crime.

The FSB said Kohver was found in possession of a pistol, ammunition, €5,000 (£3,970), "special equipment to carry out covert recording" and "materials that seem to be assignments for an intelligence-gathering mission".

It claimed Kohver works for Estonia's security police, which oversees internal security and intelligence. "Kohver has been detained and the necessary investigative work is being carried out," the FSB said.

Russian television aired video footage of the evidence provided by the FSB, suggesting authorities in Moscow want to play up the incident.

Kohver's arrest came just two days after a landmark visit by Barack Obama to Tallinn, aimed at reassuring jittery Baltic states of his country's commitment to their security as Nato allies in the face of Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis.

• This article was amended on 8 September 2014 to correct the name of the Estonian president in the picture caption.