London terror arrests: Met Police detain two men on suspicion of money laundering linked to extremists in Syria

Scotland Yard says the fraud was on a 'large scale'

Police raids has revealed a large-scale fraud operation (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Police investigating UK extremists travelling to Syria have arrested two men in London on suspicion of money-laundering.

Scotland Yard said the arrests came as part of an investigation into large-scale fraud which involved raids across six addresses in the capital today.

Officers arrested a 29-year-old man in west London and a 23-year-old man in east London on Wednesday morning, police said. They are currently being held in custody in a south London police station.

The fraud, which allegedly saw the theft of £150,000 from one elderly man alone, involved conmen cold-calling vulnerable people and impersonating a police officer.

They would then inform them their bank account had been compromised and convince the victims into transferring money to an account under the control of the suspect, police said.

In a statement, the Met Police said the arrests related to "large-scale fraud linked to UK extremists travelling to Syria".

Investigations at all six addresses are ongoing, according to the Met Police.

The statement warned the public to beware of cold-calling scams, and to never share their pin number over the phone.

"Members of the public are strongly advised, if you receive a call like this from someone claiming to be a police officer, (to) hang up the phone,” the statement said.

"(Then) wait at least five minutes to make sure the phone line has cleared, or use another phone line, before ringing the phone number on your bank card," it added.

Additional reporting by PA