Lithuanian police say they have rescued a Norwegian businessman held hostage by an international criminal gang.

The national deputy police commissioner says the hostage was rescued after officers stormed an apartment in the capital, Vilnius, on Monday and arrested six people.

Visvaldas Rackauskas declined to identify the kidnapped man or give other details of the suspects. He said they had demanded "a large amount of money," but did not say if any money had been handed over.

Rackauskas told reporters on Thursday that police in Sweden and Norway had helped local forces in the operation. No other details were immediately available.

