THREE people have been arrested as part of a major anti-fraud investigation.

Thames Valley Police, working in conjunction with HMRC, arrested three people believed to have been involved in fraud spanning across Slough, Germany and the Netherlands.

A 45-year-old man from Staines and a 43-year-old man from Hounslow were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud by the police, and also on suspicion of excise duty offences by HMRC officers.

A 54-year-old man from Watford was also arrested, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud and handling stolen goods.

The arrests involved 23 police officers and 8 HMRC officers. Warrants were served on them at four addresses across the Staines, Watford and Hounslow areas. All three people are in custody at the time of writing.

PC Ryan Powell, who lead the warrants, said:“The suspects in this case have been identified as being involved in a serious and complex fraud investigation”

“We are seeing that more creative and complex fraud offences are on the rise, but Thames Valley Police will work in partnership with other agencies to tackle and combat serious fraud”.