Amsterdam  - Dutch police have arrested two blackmailers who are suspected of trying to sell a USB memory stick with sensitive information that had gone missing back to the military, the Defence Ministry confirmed Wednesday.

Officers from the national police force (KM) seized the two men as they turned up for the scheduled handover of money, the ministry said.

The two men, aged 28 and 29, had threatened to hand the electronic data over to the press if the military did not pay them, De Telegraaf newspaper reported.

The memory stick is believed to have contained information about cargo flights to Dutch troops in Afghanistan.

The men, who now face charges of blackmail and fraud, found the memory stick at a car wash.

A member of the air force had reported the loss of the memory stick. (dpa)