Specialist officers from a unit of the force that covers national security policing, carried out the arrests after an investigation, the police statement said, but none of the five have been formally charged with espionage.
The statement did not address the BBC report directly.
Three of the people were identified by both the BBC and by the police as Orlin Roussev, 45; Biser Dzambazov, 42; and Katrin Ivanova, 32.
The police said they had been separately charged with possessing false identification documents with “improper intention.” The BBC report said they had been charged with possessing false documents, including passports and identity cards for Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Slovenia.
The police said that Mr. Roussev lived in the eastern English county of Norfolk, and that Mr. Dzambazov and Ms. Ivanova lived in the London district of Harrow.
Persons:
Orlin Roussev, Biser Dzambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Roussev, Dzambazov, Ivanova
Organizations:
London Metropolitan Police, BBC
Locations:
Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, English, Norfolk, London, Harrow