TWO men and a woman have been arrested in Essex on suspicion of assisting the Russian intelligence service.
A 41-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested at an address in Grays, Essex.
PAMetropolitan Police counter-terrorism Commander Dominic Murphy[/caption]
A 46-year-old man was arrested at a separate address, also in the Grays area of Essex.
All three were arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act (NSA), 2023 and they were taken to a police station in London.
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.
“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.”
All three have been bailed while the investigation continues.
Scotland Yard said it would not disclose the nationalities of those involved.
In May this year, a honeytrip spy ring was jailed after passing secrets to Russia for three years from their British guesthouse base.
Orlin Roussev, Biser Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Tihomir Ivanchev, Ivan Stoyanov and Vanya Gaberova plotted stings on British soil.
The spy ring was controlled by Jan Marsalek on behalf of Russia’s GRU military intelligence and the FSB state security service.
Marsalek, 43, is at the centre of an Interpol Red Notice after going on the run when his tech company collapsed in 2020.
The Bulgarian spies all had EU settled status enabling them to travel freely across Europe from the UK.
PA:Press AssociationScotland Yard said it would not disclose the nationalities of those involved[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
