SAINT-PETERSBURG, November 21. /TASS/. Border guards have detained a French national who illegally crossed from Estonia into Russia by boat, the Russian Federal Security Service said.

The man was detained not far from the border, the agency’s office for St. Petersburg and the surrounding region said in a statement.

"The foreigner confessed that he had crossed the Russian border illegally, bypassing the established crossings from Estonia into Russia, by boat across the Narva River," the statement said.

The security service, known as the FSB, started an investigation, and the Kingisepp City Court ordered the detainee to be taken into custody for 30 days. Estonia has been notified about the incident, the agency said.

Illegal border crossing carries a penalty of up to six years in prison.