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Two Latvian Nationals Arrested After Breaching RAF Base Housing NATO Intelligence Hub
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Two Latvian men were arrested after a fence was breached at RAF Molesworth, a UK military base used by US and NATO intelligence operations, the BBC reported on October 8.
The men, aged 36 and 32 and living in the UK, were detained inside the base several hours after a Ministry of Defence Police patrol discovered an abandoned vehicle near the site.
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Britain has faced a series of Russian-linked sabotage, cyberattacks, espionage, and proxy operations in recent years. British authorities have linked Russian intelligence structures to plots targeting warehouses, critical infrastructure, logistics networks, and organizations involved in supporting Ukraine.
According to the BBC, searches revealed a small breach in the perimeter fence. The men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a prohibited site and criminal damage.
They were later arrested on suspicion of an offense under Section 4 of the UK National Security Act 2023, which covers entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
RAF Molesworth, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, hosts US intelligence operations centers covering Europe and Africa, as well as a NATO intelligence hub. The facility is not used as a flying station.
Counter Terrorism Policing London is investigating the case and examining why the two men were at the base, the BBC reported.
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“A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site, but I must stress we are keeping an open mind at this stage,” Commander Helen Flanagan stated.
Police were also carrying out searches at two addresses in the Peterborough area.
The abandoned vehicle prompted temporary road closures while bomb disposal officers examined it. Cambridgeshire Police later confirmed that nothing of concern had been found.
The UK Ministry of Defence stated that security around military facilities remains under constant review and includes physical barriers, patrols, surveillance, monitoring, and counter-drone systems.
The arrests came shortly after a separate security case at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Flanagan noted that investigators currently had no evidence linking the Molesworth breach to that earlier case.
The earlier case involved several men arrested over suspected explosives offenses near RAF Fairford, where nearby homes were evacuated and military bomb disposal specialists examined vehicles near the base.
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