Overview
- The Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command detained a 41-year-old man, a 46-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman in Essex on 17 September.
- All three were arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023 in a case police say is connected to Russia.
- Two addresses in Essex were searched as part of the operation, and the suspects were later released on bail pending further inquiries.
- Head of the command Dominic Murphy warned that proven involvement in contact with a foreign state could lead to lengthy prison sentences.
- Investigators are withholding additional details, including citizenship, and have stated the arrests are not linked to earlier high-profile cases this year.