A 72-year-old German man has been arrested on a Greek island on suspicion of spying for Turkey, police said, according to the Guardian.

The man told police he had photographed barracks and other military-related buildings on the island of Chios for five people he believed were Turkish nationals who paid him up to €1,500 for each assignment.

Police suspect the individuals worked for the Turkish secret services, a Greek police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Saturday, adding that investigations were ongoing.

The man has been living on the island near the Turkish coast for the past four years and had been taking photos of military bases for at least three, police said.

He was arrested on Friday and will appear before a prosecutor to face espionage charges.

A German foreign ministry spokesman said the embassy in Athens was aware of the case and was trying to contact the man.

Police said they had found in the man's possession cameras, laptops, maps and glasses with an embedded camera, and an email he had sent to an unidentified recipient with details on Greek warships and army vehicles on Chios.

The email also mentioned a widely reported incident last week in which Greek coastguards intercepted a boat containing guns and explosives in the waters near Turkey, close to the island. Turkey said two of six people arrested were members of a Turkish militant group. . Turkey and Greece have a history of enmity and have come to the brink of war on several occasions, most recently in 1996 over an uninhabited Aegean islet.