Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) today (27 July) arrested a 19-year-old man in a pre-planned intelligence-led operation.

The man arrested is believed to be linked to an ongoing international investigation in to the criminal activity of the so-called "hacktivist" groups Anonymous and LulzSec, and uses the online nickname “Topiary” which is presented as the spokesperson for the groups.

He was arrested at a residential address in the Shetland Islands and is currently being transported to a police station in central London. A search is ongoing at the address.

A residential address in Lincolnshire is also being searched. A 17-year-old male is being interviewed under caution in connection with the inquiry. He has not been arrested.

Today’s operation is linked to PCeU’s ongoing investigation into network intrusions and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group.

It was carried out with the assistance of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) and Lincolnshire Constabulary.

Source: UK Police