7 More Arrested in U.K. as Olympic Paranoia Sets In
It marks the fourth security-related incident this week, a direct effect of the heightened security surrounding the games.
| Posted Friday, July 6, 2012, at 10:16 AM
Photo by Robert Grahan/AFP/Getty Images.
UPDATE: There were seven more arrests in the U.K. this week on suspicion of terrorism-related activities, police announced on Friday, marking the fourth securityrelated incident this week, reports ABC News.
The suspects' vehicle was pulled over for a routine stop last weekend, Reuters reports, near Yorkshire in the north of England. The vehicle was impounded after police suspected the driver had no insurance. Then, apparently, firearms and weapons were found in the vehicle, leading to the arrest of the driver, passenger, and 5 other suspects.
The number of arrests announced over the past two days now totals 13, illustrating the heightened concern that the 2012 Olympics could become a terror target, points out the New York Times. And the pollice have made it clear they'd rather err on the side of caution. Police closed parts of the highly transited M6 expressway for hours on Thursday after a passenger on a bus to London called police to report suspicious smoke. Armed officers, helicopters, and fire trucks came to the scene. In the end, all the fuss was caused by a passenger smoking an electronic cigarette.
Like the London arrests on Thursday, police are denying that the suspects planned anything in connection to the Olympics, which begin in London later this month. The arrests are reportedly not linked to Thursday's arrests of 6 suspects accused of preparing an Islamic terror-related plot in the U.K., either, the BBC notes.
Thursday, June 5: British counterterrorism officers arrested six people in London on Thursday in an intelligence investigation into an alleged terror plot with possible U.K. targets.
According to the Guardian, the suspects were arrested in a series of raids based on a weeks-long intelligence operation that involved the country's MI5 intelligence service. While at least some of the arrests of five men and one woman happened near the Olympic stadium, officials said the alleged plot was not connected to the upcoming Olympic or Paralympic games in the city. One suspect was hit by police with a stun gun during the arrest.
The BBC reports that the suspects are likely Islamic extremists and were arrested under suspicion of preparing or instigating acts of terrorism. The Associated Press says that all those arrested were British Muslims, three of the men are brothers, and another is a former police officer.
The suspects range in age from 18 to 30 and are being held at a police station in London.
