UK Police Arrest Three on Suspicion of Spying for Russia

TDT | LONDON 

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UK counter-terrorism police have arrested two men and a woman in southeast England on suspicion of espionage for Russia, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Thursday.

The suspects – a 41-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman, and a 46-year-old man – were detained under Section 3 of the National Security Act for allegedly assisting a foreign intelligence service. Two of the arrests took place at the same address, while the third occurred separately in the Grays area of Essex. All three were questioned at a London police station before being released on conditional bail.

“We're seeing an increasing number of what we would describe as 'proxies' being recruited by foreign intelligence services,” said Dominic Murphy, head of the Counter Terrorism Command.

The arrests come amid heightened concern over Russian espionage in the UK. In May, six Bulgarian nationals were jailed for their involvement in a Moscow-run spy network operating from a guesthouse in Great Yarmouth. Separately, several individuals are awaiting sentencing for an arson attack on a warehouse supplying Ukraine with communications equipment, an attack allegedly orchestrated by Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group.

Last year, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum warned that Russia’s intelligence operations were aimed at creating “mayhem” in the UK in retaliation for Britain’s backing of Ukraine. He noted that Moscow had increasingly turned to criminals and private contractors to carry out operations on British soil.

Murphy issued a stern warning to those approached by Russian operatives: “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.