AN Asian shopkeeper and father-of-two was among the three arrested on Wednesday (8) in northern England on suspicion of 'commission, preparation, and instigation of acts of terrorism,' reported The MailOnline.
According to the report, he was arrested at The Warehouse Gym, in Hindley near Wigan and was tied up by masked cops inside the gym.
The police escorted the suspect out of the gym, with one officer later captured on video holding the grip of a 9mm Glock pistol, concealed in his trousers.
Following this, police conducted a search of his residence in Hindley. Meanwhile, his wife, son, and daughter were left waiting on the road outside the terraced property.
The Greater Manchester Police said that four warrants were executed in the Bolton, Great Lever, Abram and Hindley areas on Wednesday.
Three men, aged 35, 36 and 51, were arrested at separate locations and have been taken into custody for questioning, the force said.
The Asian suspect's wife informed MailOnline that he was arrested by the police in the presence of his "traumatised" 16-year-old son, who was also at the gym at that moment.
"I don't know anything. He was arrested in front of my 16-year-old son at the gym. My son's traumatised. I'm not saying anything as I need to protect my kids," she was quoted as saying.
Neighbours expressed surprise at the arrest, describing the man and his family as 'no trouble'.
Kathleen Walker, 48, expressed shock, mentioning the man's presence in the neighbourhood for a few years and his ownership of two nearby shops.
Another neighbour, Shannon Corner, 24, echoed the sentiment of shock, describing the man as nice in her interactions with him.
Video footage from the gym captured the suspect being arrested by masked officers in plain clothes.
Jonathan Hart, co-owner of the gym, remarked on the suspect's occasional visits to the gym, describing him as polite and quiet.
Assistant chief constable Rob Potts, who holds responsibility for counter terrorism policing in the north west, said: “Three men have been taken into custody for questioning and scenes remain in place as we conduct further enquiries. Today's (8) activity has been the culmination of much detailed planning and we have put measures in place to minimise disruption to local residents as much as possible.
“I understand that any time arrests of this nature are made it will cause concerns and people will naturally have questions. Although we can’t go into specific details of the investigation at this stage, I want to reassure members of the public that we do not currently believe there to be any wider threat linked to today’s activity.
“Further detail will be released where appropriate as the investigation progresses.”
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Martin Rosenbaum (Pic credit: rosenbaum.org.uk)
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