Three people arrested in London on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence services
The trio were arrested under the National Security Act, according to the Metropolitan Police
Three men have been arrested in London on suspicion of 'spying' for Russian intelligence services.
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The three men, aged 48, 45 and 44, were arrested at separate addresses in west and central London on Thursday.
"Searches are ongoing at these addresses as well as another address in west London," the Met confirmed.
The Met added that the arrests form part of an ongoing investigation into alleged offences under the National Security Act.
The probe was led by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London, with all three men arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act (NSA), 2023.
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Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: "We’re seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as 'proxies' being recruited by foreign intelligence services and these arrests are directly related to our ongoing to efforts to disrupt this type of activity.
"Anyone who might be contacted by and tempted into carrying out criminal activity on behalf of a foreign state here in the UK should think again.
"This kind of activity will be investigated and anyone found to be involved can expect to be prosecuted and there are potentially very serious consequences for those who are convicted."
It comes just a month after two men and a woman were arrested in Essex on suspicion of assisting the Russian intelligence service, according to the Met.
A 41-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were arrested at the same address in Grays. A 46-year-old man was arrested nearby.
All three have since been released on bail.
This is a developing story. More to follow.