British police arrest three over alleged Russia-linked spying, as Lithuania and Latvia uncover sabotage plots.
Published On 18 Sep 202518 Sep 2025
British police have arrested three people suspected of running sabotage and espionage operations for Russia.
The detentions on Thursday east of London mark the latest in a string of espionage allegations that Moscow has been recruiting people to engage in attacks and spying across Europe.
Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list
The suspects – two men aged 41 and 46, and a 35-year-old woman – were detained in Essex on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, a charge under the National Security Act, introduced in 2023 to give broader powers against foreign state threats.
Police said the arrests followed an investigation into suspected collaboration with Russian intelligence.
Head of London’s Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, said the United Kingdom had seen “an increasing number of who we would describe as ‘proxies’ being recruited by foreign intelligence services”.
Europe-wide threat
Since its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Russia has regularly been accused of running covert intelligence operations across Europe.
The detentions in the UK came a day after Lithuania and Latvia reported uncovering separate Moscow-linked operations.
Lithuanian prosecutors said they had broken up a network that planned arson and explosive attacks in several European Union states.
Latvia’s security service announced the detention of a man suspected of passing military intelligence to Russia.
Britain has repeatedly accused Russia of orchestrating sabotage and spy operations on its soil and beyond.
The Kremlin has rejected those allegations, accusing the UK of blaming Moscow for “anything bad that happens”.
However, the latest arrests follow several recent convictions.
In July, three men were found guilty of setting fire to Ukraine-linked businesses in London, an attack British officials said had been ordered by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. Earlier this year, five Bulgarians were convicted of spying for the Kremlin.
Special delivery
Lithuanian prosecutors said on Wednesday that suspects had shipped parcels containing homemade incendiary devices disguised inside vibrating cushions and cosmetics tubes.
The devices were sent via courier services to Britain and Poland in July 2024, hidden among normal cargo.
One package caught fire at a DHL logistics hub in Leipzig before it could be flown to the UK, while another ignited at a warehouse in Birmingham.
Two other shipments headed for Poland also caught fire, though one failed to detonate. Investigators said the parcels contained thermite, a highly flammable industrial compound.
Authorities in Vilnius said two of those detained were linked to an arson attack on an IKEA store in May 2024. A total of 15 suspects from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine are under investigation, with international arrest warrants issued for three.
Latvia’s security service separately reported detaining a man accused of gathering intelligence on NATO troops and military infrastructure in the country for Russia.