British counter-terror police arrested two men and a woman in southeast England on suspicion of spying for Russia, the Metropolitan Police said on Thursday.
"All three were arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act," police said in a statement, adding that the individuals were taken to a police station in London before being released on conditional bail.
A 41-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested at a single address, while a 46-year-old man was arrested at a different address in the Grays area of southeastern Essex.
"We're seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as 'proxies' being recruited by foreign intelligence services," said Counter Terrorism Command head Dominic Murphy.
The arrests come months after six Bulgarians were jailed for their roles in a Russian espionage cell being run out of a former guesthouse in the eastern English seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.
British spy chief Ken McCallum warned last year that Russian intelligence services were intent on causing "mayhem" in the U.K. in retaliation for its support of Ukraine.
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