ANTI-TERRORISM police have spent over a week searching a Leytonstone house in an investigation into the kidnapping of two journalists in Syria, it has been revealed.


Detectives swooped on the property in Montague Road last Tuesday (October 9) following the arrest of a couple at Heathrow Airport earlier that night.


Trainee NHS doctor Shajul Islam, 26, has since been charged with imprisoning British photographer John Cantlie and Dutch journalist Jeroen Oerlemans in July.


They were taken hostage on the Syrian border with Turkey but were released nine days later.
 

The other person arrested, a 26-year-old woman, has been released without charge.


At the time of the arrests the Met said it was searching two addresses in east London but would not confirm exactly where.


Mr Islam told Westminster Magistrates Court he lives in Luxembourg Mews in Stratford, which is believed to be the other house which was searched.


Officers guarded the house in Montague Road round-the-clock until earlier this week but the force has only revealed publicly why today (Friday October 19).


A Met spokesman said: "Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command searched a residential address in Montague Road in connection with the investigation into people travelling to Syria in support of alleged terrorist activity.


"The search is now complete.


“There is nothing to suggest that the property poses or posed any risk to the public."


Ward councillor, Labour's Nicholas Russell, lives just a few doors down from the house.


He said: “Speaking as a local resident we were shocked and surprised at quite how many police there were.


“There was always a police officer guarding the house and sometimes there were as many as two vans of police in the street.


“I'm glad they are investigating it properly and I welcome there being a proper explanation what they were doing.


“It was surprising just how long they were here for and people were worried.”


He added that he did not know who normally lives at the house.


Police will not reveal the exact connection between the property and the investigation.
 

The Met said at the time of the arrests that the pair were both British and were seized at Heathrow after arriving on a flight from Egypt.


Mr Islam has been remanded in custody and is due to appear in court again in November.