Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Assisting Russian Intelligence

Three men, aged 44, 45, and 48, were arrested in west and central London on Thursday morning as part of an ongoing national security investigation. The men were held under section 3 of the National Security Act, and searches were conducted at their addresses as well as a further location in west London. The arrests are directly related to the Metropolitan police's efforts to disrupt foreign intelligence services' attempts to recruit proxies in the UK. Commander Dominic Murphy of the Met's counter-terrorism command warned that anyone tempted into carrying out criminal activity on behalf of a foreign state should think again, as such actions will be investigated and prosecuted.

Key Takeaways:

Three men were arrested in London on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence, with their nationality not publicly disclosed.
The men were held under section 3 of the National Security Act, a provision allowing for detention without charge for up to six hours.
Searches were conducted at the men's addresses and a further location in west London.
Commander Dominic Murphy of the Met's counter-terrorism command warned that recruiting proxies for foreign intelligence services is a growing concern and will be investigated.
Anyone found guilty of carrying out such activities can expect "potentially very serious consequences," including prosecution and imprisonment.
The arrests are part of the Metropolitan police's ongoing efforts to disrupt foreign intelligence services' activities in the UK.
The men's identities and motivations are unknown, and no further information was released.

Statistics:

3 men were arrested in London on Thursday morning
2 addresses in west London and 1 address in central London were searched
1 additional location in west London was searched
Section 3 of the National Security Act was invoked, allowing for detention without charge for up to 6 hours

Sources:

Metropolitan Police Service [1]