The "suspicious substance" is recovered as UK police arrest five people with suspected links to the attacks in Paris and Brussels.
11:15, UK,Saturday 16 April 2016
Police have found a "suspicious substance" at an address in Birmingham after targeting a terror cell with reported links to the atrocities in Paris and Brussels.
Four men and a woman were arrested as part of an investigation involving MI5 and authorities in France and Belgium.
Detectives detained three men, aged 26, 40 and 59, and a 29-year-old woman, in Birmingham on Thursday night.
A 26-year-old man was arrested at Gatwick Airport in the early hours of Friday.
All five people arrested were held on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
On Saturday, it emerged that specialist police attended an address in Birmingham and a "suspicious substance" was found.
Sources, reported in the Guardian newspaper, suggested that the raid was in the Small Heath area of the city.
A West Midlands police spokesman said: "During a search of an address in connection with the counter-terrorism arrests in Birmingham, a suspicious substance was found.
"A specialist unit attended as a precautionary measure. There was no immediate danger to the public and it was not necessary to evacuate any homes."
Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said a number of properties in Birmingham were being searched after the pre-planned and "intelligence-led" arrests.
There is no information to suggest an attack in the UK was being planned, he added.
All five suspects are being held in the West Midlands, where they are being questioned by specialist officers.
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