Detectives investigating alleged illegal payments to public officials by journalists have arrested another three people including a former member of the armed forces.
Officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Elveden swooped on two houses in Kent and Lancashire in a dawn raid.
A 36-year-old man was arrested in Kent on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and a 42-year-old man and 38-year-old woman were arrested in Lancashire, on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and the woman on suspicion of aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office.
All three are currently being questioned and their homes are being searched.
In a statement police said: "The arrests were made at approximately 0600hrs by officers from Operation Elveden, the MPS investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials. Operation Elveden is being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and is being run in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the MPS inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes."
A total of 26 people have now been arrested since last July as part of the inquiry, which is linked to the Metropolitan Police's continuing phone-hacking investigation.