British counter-terrorism police have apprehended two men and a woman in southeast England on allegations of espionage for Russia, as reported by the Metropolitan Police on Thursday.

According to a police statement, “All three were detained on suspicion of aiding a foreign intelligence agency, in violation of section 3 of the National Security Act.” They were subsequently taken to a police facility in London but were later released on conditional bail.

The arrests involved a 41-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman who were seized at the same location, while a 46-year-old man was taken into custody at a separate site in the Grays area of southeastern Essex.

Dominic Murphy, head of the Counter Terrorism Command, noted, “We are witnessing a growing trend of individuals being recruited as ‘proxies’ by foreign intelligence services.”

These arrests follow the earlier conviction of six Bulgarians for their involvement in a Russian spy network operating out of a former guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, a seaside resort in eastern England.

Last year, British spy chief Ken McCallum issued a warning that Russian intelligence agencies were determined to incite “chaos” in the U.K. in response to its support for Ukraine.