Seven held in swoop targeting terrorism and crime

Officers from the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command arrested six men and a woman at four addresses in London, Coventry and Cardiff at 6am yesterday.

They were all being held at a central London police station last night on suspicion of being concerned in the funding of a terrorist organisation and laundering the proceeds of crime for that purpose.

All seven were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 as part of an operation into suspected fundraising for terrorism overseas, Scotland Yard said.

They included a 45-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man in Croydon; two men aged 30 and 47 in Brent; two men aged 42 and 45 in Coventry; and a 40-year-old man in Cardiff.

Homeland Security Investigations, an investigative branch of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and officers from the UK’s counter terrorism network, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and local forces were also involved in yesterday’s operation, Scotland Yard said.

The arrests were part of an investigation into a network suspected of illegally exporting the stimulant khat, which is legal in the UK, to the US and Canada where it is a controlled substance.

A further seven residential addresses in London, Worthing, and Coventry, and a business premises in Coventry were being searched, but there were no arrests at those sites yesterday.

Khat is a green leafy plant used mostly in Africa but which is becoming increasingly common across Europe. It contains two main stimulants which are designated in the UK as Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Their main effects are similar to amphetamine.