UK police arrest two men over alleged Hezbollah links

British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday that they have arrested two men accused of being linked to Hezbollah, which is a banned group in the UK, saying that their investigation involved alleged activity both overseas and in Britain, Reuters has reported.

Detectives from London’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) arrested a 39-year-old man in north London on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed group, preparing acts of terrorism and being involved in funding for the purposed of terrorism. A second man, 35, was arrested in west London on suspicion of being a member of a banned organisation.

“Our investigation remains ongoing, but I hope that these arrests show we will take robust action against anyone here whom we suspect as being involved in terrorist activity regardless of whether their activity is focused here in the UK or elsewhere,” said commander Dominic Murphy, head of the CTC.

Police said that the investigation related to the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah which Britain outlawed in 2019 when it designated it as a terrorist group. There was no immediate threat to the public, they said.

The two men were released on police bail until mid-July.

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