A spy case broke out in NATO forces! Senior US military officer arrested in UK for Russian intelligence investigation

A 41-year-old U.S. Army officer stationed at an important command base of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was arrested by British anti-terrorism police near Gloucester, England, on Tuesday (10th) on suspicion of spying for Russia.

According to comprehensive foreign media reports, the London Anti-Terrorism Police Department pointed out that the US military personnel was detained on suspicion of crimes under Articles 1 and 3 of the British National Security Act 2023, which involves illegally obtaining or leaking protected information and assisting foreign intelligence agencies. Under the law, police can detain a person for up to 14 days without formally charging him. Counter-terrorism units are currently conducting searches at two locations in Gloucestershire, and those involved have been transferred to the London Police Department for further questioning.

According to US, UK and NATO officials, the detained soldier served in the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Force (ARRC) at Imjin Barracks in Innsworth, Gloucester. This force is led by the United Kingdom and covers garrisons from 20 countries. It is responsible for providing extremely rapid strategic deployment and operational command when a crisis occurs. It is a key hub of NATO in Europe. The U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command later confirmed that the arrested person was a senior military officer with access to sensitive information, but did not disclose his name due to investigation procedures.

The arrest was carried out by British counter-terrorism forces in collaboration with the FBI and US military counterintelligence. FBI Director Kash Patel issued a statement emphasizing that the case involves serious espionage charges, and the United States and its allies are closely pursuing it. He reiterated that judicial institutions will never tolerate anyone who violates their oath and endangers the national security of the United States and its partners. The entire case is still under investigation by the US and UK transnational counterintelligence units.

The British police also clarified that the case has nothing to do with other ongoing anti-terrorism investigations and ruled out any involvement in the threat of an Iranian terrorist attack at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom in September this year.