Armed anti-terror police use chainsaw to break into east London home during raid on hideouts of suspected plotters – as four men are arrested in joint operation in capital and Leicestershire
- Man, 27, was arrested at an address in east London with help of armed officers
- Two men, 31 and 17, were arrested at a nearby property also with armed officers
- A 32-year-old was arrested by counter terrorism police in Leicestershire
Armed police have stormed an east London property with a chainsaw – as four men were arrested for plotting a terror attack.
Dramatic video shows a squad of gun-toting officers bursting into a house in Goodmayes, Redbridge, shortly before a man is dragged out and handcuffed.
Scotland Yard said the heavy police operation related to an ongoing anti-terror investigation which today saw four people arrested.
Constables arrested a 27-year-old at an address in east London, a 31-year-old and a 17-year-old at a nearby property, and a 32-year-old in Leicestershire, Scotland Yard said in a statement.
The 27-year-old was bitten on the foot by a police dog and has been taken to hospital with minor injuries
Dramatic video shows a squad of rifle-wielding officers bursting in on a house in Goodmayes, Redbridge, before a man is dragged from the house
Scotland Yard said the heavy police operation related to an ongoing anti-terror investigation which today saw four people arrested
The man is led away in handcuffs by officers, while another officer appears to watch the house through the lense of a mounted sniper
Armed officers were involved in the two raids in the capital but the Metropolitan Police said not shots were fired.
After arresting the four men, police are currently combing through the three addresses, and a search is also underway at a fourth address in East London as part of the investigation.
All four men were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under section 41 of the Terrorism Act.
They are being held in police custody while detectives continue their ‘proactive investigation’.
Separate video showed armed police descending on a block of flats, also near Goodmayes Park
Separate video showed armed police descending on a block of flats, also near Goodmayes Park.
Eoin Moylan, 22, said: ‘I heard glass breaking and a woman screaming then a loud bang. I thought fireworks had gone wrong. I saw police in uniform.’
‘The noises could have been flash bangs because there was smoke as well,’ he told the Barking and Dagenham Post.