Police arrest 5 in UK tabloid case

2012-01-28 13:48

London - British police say they have arrested five people, including a police officer, on suspicion of corruption as part of an investigation into police bribery by a tabloid newspaper.

London's Metropolitan Police said two men aged 48 and one aged 56 were arrested early on Saturday at homes in and around London. A 42-year-old man was detained later at a London police station.

Murdoch's News Corp confirmed that all four were current or former Sun employees.

The fifth, a 29-year-old police officer, was arrested at the London station where he works.

The investigation is running parallel to a police inquiry into phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World. Police said the arrests were made as a result of information provided by Murdoch's News Corp.

A dozen people have now been arrested in the bribery probe, though none has yet been charged.

- SAPA