Telegram chat app founder Pavel Durov arrested at Paris airport

Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested on Saturday when his private jet landed in Paris.

French authorities apprehended Durov, a billionaire Russian exile, around 8 p.m. at the Le Bourget airport after he arrived from Azerbaijan, the New York Post reported.

French authorities executed a search warrant for a preliminary investigation into staunch free speech advocate Durov over his encrypted messaging app.

Officials claim the lack of moderation on Telegram and its support for cryptocurrencies facilitate pedophilia, fraud and drug trafficking.

Durov and his brother founded Telegram in 2013, but left Russia in 2014 after refusing to hand over encrypted user data to Russian officials.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said he left Russia because he didn’t want to take orders from the Russian government, according to the outlet.

“I understood that I would rather be free. I wouldn’t want to take orders from anyone and I left behind probably a comfortable life,” Durov said.

The warrant was only valid if Durov, a French and United Arab Emirates citizen who lives in Dubai, stepped foot on French soil.

"He made a blunder this evening. We don't know why. . . Was this flight just a stopover? In any case, he's in custody," a source close to the investigation said.