Two men and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.
Three people were arrested in Essex on suspicion of assisting the Russian intelligence service, the Metropolitan police said.
A 41-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were arrested at an address in Grays.
Another 46-year-old man was arrested at a separate address in the town.
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.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
‘Indeed, two young British men are awaiting sentencing after they were recruited by the Wagner Group – effectively the Russian state – to carry out an arson at Ukrainian-linked warehouse.
‘They are facing potentially lengthy custodial sentences, although, to be clear, today’s arrests are in no way connected to that investigation.
‘But 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.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
