Arrest In U.K. Letter Bombs Case

Police arrested a man early Monday in connection with a series of letter bombs sent to offices linked to traffic enforcement.

The man was arrested near Cambridge, 55 miles northeast of London, said Anton Setchell, the Association of Chief Police officers' national coordinator for domestic extremism.

The association has taken the lead in the investigation, which includes four earlier cases. Altogether, nine people have been injured in the attacks.

Setchell gave no details about the suspect who was arrested in Cherry Hinton, on the southeast edge of Cambridge.

Britain's PA News wire service named the suspect as Miles Cooper, a man in his 20s.

Sky News said investigators were linking the man to all seven devices that were discovered across the U.K. in less than a month.

Forensic teams had begun a search of a residence which was expected to continue for several days, he said.

"At this stage I am not able to guarantee that there is not another postal package containing an explosive device within the postal system," Setchell told a news conference.

On Feb. 5, a woman was injured by an exploding parcel at the head office of Capita Group PLC in London. One of the company's many government contracts is for designing and running a system for enforcing the $16 daily congestion charge imposed on motorists in central London.

Two people were injured Feb. 6 in an explosion at Vantis PLC in Wokingham, 40 miles southwest of London. The accounting company reported the package was addressed to a client. Police said the company's clients include Speed Check Services, which provides traffic monitoring technology.

The next day, three people were treated after a parcel bomb exploded at the headquarters of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea, Wales.

On Feb. 9, police detained a man who telephoned a radio talk show, claiming he had sent the devices. He was detained under the Mental Health Act.