British police arrest three on suspicion of spying for Russia

By Sophie Tanno, CNN

(CNN) — British police said Thursday that they have arrested three people on suspicion of spying for Russia.

The group – a 41-year-old man, 46-year-old man and 35-year-old woman – were all arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service in the county of Essex, northeast of London, a statement from London’s Metropolitan Police said.

They were arrested as part of a counter terrorist investigation into suspected National Security Act offenses, the statement said, and taken to a police station in London.

Officers conducted searches at the two addresses in Essex. All three people have since been released on conditional bail, while the investigation remains ongoing, police said.

CNN has approached the Russian embassy in London for comment.

Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Through our recent national security casework, we’re seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as ‘proxies’ being recruited by foreign intelligence services.”

Murphy cited a recent arson attack at a warehouse run by a Ukrainian man in Leyton – a town in east London – carried out by proxies on behalf of Russia’s Wagner Group, as an example of this. However, he stressed that Thursday’s arrests were not connected to that investigation.

UK and Russia relations have cratered since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin has denied previous accusations of spying.

Several European countries have accused Russia of carrying out espionage and sabotage activities.

Lithuania on Wednesday accused Russia of being behind the detonations of parcels carried by DHL and DPD in Europe in 2024 as part of a test run for to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States.

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