via the Times > Five men and one woman were today arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into suspected organised insider dealing, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said.

The City regulator said those arrested were aged between 27 and 34. Eight properties in London and Essex were also searched as part of the investigation.

The operation was jointly carried out by the FSA and the City of London Police Economic Crime Directorate as part of a crack-down on market abuse.

The FSA refused to comment further on today’s arrests.

It is the third set of arrests carried out by the FSA and the City of London Police into organised insider dealing in the last 12 months. The FSA said that none of the three sets of arrests are linked.

In March, Christopher McQuoid, a solicitor, and his father-in-law, James William Melbourne, were each sentenced to eight months in prison after being found guilty in the FSA’s first insider dealing criminal case.