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Detectives in the fight against terrorism were looking for those who had built two homemade explosive devices found in a derelict apartment in North London.
Police were called Wednesday at 9:44 in an address located in Craven Park, Brent, after two suspicious objects were discovered at the apartment, under renovation.
The Guardian understands that early checks by counterterrorism investigators showed that the address had not yet been linked to suspicions of terrorism.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have since been secured and are currently undergoing forensic examination. The full tests will take up to two days and will tell the detectives how sophisticated the devices were, how viable they were and their purpose of manufacturing, and would also help them assess the level of skill required.
The Metropolitan Police Counterterrorism Command is conducting the investigation following the discovery of explosive materials. The level of terrorist threat of the UK is very serious, which means that an attack is highly likely.
Detectives at this stage do not exclude the absence of terrorist intent.
The block of flats was evacuated and the local roads closed while specialized officers were evaluating the devices, both of which were booby traps. The area around the block of flats was searched and found safe at 6 pm.
Captain Simon Rose, from the Met command unit northwest of the Met, said, "The next step will be to investigate how and why both devices arrived in this apartment and that detectives from the command of the counter-terrorism will lead this operation.
One source said the discovery was a mystery and anti-terror investigators are currently trying to counter the threats coming mainly from Islamist terrorism, the far-right and Irish Republicans.
An IED at the Manchester Arena in May 2017 killed 22 people, while another at the Parsons Green subway station in September 2017 failed to explode properly.
Two more terrorist attacks in London in 2017 – in Westminster and London Bridge – had an Islamist motive, while one in Finsbury Park was motivated by an ideology of the far right.
The UK authorities have stepped up their efforts to make it more difficult to buy bomb-related materials in stores and on the Internet.
Rose added, "I would like to thank the people of the region for their patience and understanding as we manage this incident today. Public safety is our top priority and I would like to pay tribute to the specialized officers who attended the meeting and were able to recover the aircraft safely.
"I would also like to reassure the local community that we did some pre-emptive searches in the area to make sure there was nothing of a similar nature nearby, which I am pleased to confirm.
"I would ask anyone who may have information that can help us get in touch, either by calling 0800-789 321 or calling Crimestoppers, which is completely anonymous."
