An Italian naval officer was arrested in the middle of meeting a Russian official to hand over secret documents, officials say

• Italian police say a naval officer was arrested while meeting with a Russian agent to hand over secret documents.
• The two are suspected of "serious crimes tied to spying and state security," police said.
• Italian media reported that the trove included secret NATO documents.

An Italian naval officer was arrested while meeting with a Russian officer to hand him secret documents, police said, according to the BBC.

Police also said that they arrested the Russian diplomat, Reuters reported, and that the two individuals, who were not identified, were accused of "serious crimes tied to spying and state security," according to Reuters.

The Italian regional newspaper Testata Giornalistica Regionale reported that the Italian officer was passing secret NATO documents to the Russian.

A police statement said the two were caught in Rome "during a clandestine meeting between the two, caught immediately after the transfer of a document by the Italian officer in exchange for a sum of money," the BBC reported.

Italian special operations swooped in on the Tuesday night meeting in Rome, police said, according to the BBC.

Italy's foreign ministry said it had summoned Russian ambassador Sergey Razov, according to Reuters.

The naval officer has been taken into custody, Reuters reported.

But the Russian diplomat has not yet been because of their status, and police are considering what actions to take, per Reuters.