The Metropolitan Police of London confirmed the arrest of three individuals in the town of Grays, Essex, on suspicion of acting as collaborators for Russian intelligence in the United Kingdom. According to authorities, the suspects are a 41-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman, arrested at the same residence, and a third suspect, a 46-year-old man, detained nearby. All were released on bail, although the investigation remains under the supervision of the counterterrorism unit.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the unit, warned that security forces have detected an increase in the number of individuals acting as "proxies" for foreign intelligence services, confirming the Kremlin's strategy of operating through intermediaries recruited in various countries.
Espionage and recruitment of intermediaries
Murphy linked the case to a growing pattern of recruiting local citizens to commit crimes on behalf of foreign states. As an example, he recalled the case of two young Britons recruited by the Wagner Group, Russia's operational arm, who are awaiting sentencing after setting fire to a warehouse linked to Ukraine.
