A Finnish man was brought into custody while attempting to board a connecting flight at Heathrow Airport in London, the United Kingdom, on Sunday, 10 June. He was arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts the following morning.
A Finnish national has been arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in London, the United Kingdom, by the Metropolitan Police, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
The Metropolitan Police reveals in a press release that the 29-year-old man was stopped by police officers as he was attempting to board a connecting flight at Heathrow Airport shortly after 11pm on Sunday, 10 June.
The destination of the flight has not been disclosed.
The man was placed under arrest on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts the following morning, while counter-terrorism detectives were granted a warrant for detaining him for roughly a week on Tuesday, 12 June. He is being held at a police station in southern London.
Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday wrote that the arrest has been confirmed by a spokesperson for the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The spokesperson refrained from providing any further details of the case, such as whether the suspect was living in Finland.
The newspaper also highlighted that the man is already the third Finnish national to have been arrested under counter-terrorism laws in the United Kingdom since 2016. One of the men was convicted of preparation of terrorist acts in June 2016, while the other was acquitted of the terrorism charges but sentenced to imprisonment for other offences in early 2018.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Andrew Cowie – AFP/Lehtikuva
