LulzSec member Topiary arrested?

Was LulzSec member Topiary arrested yesterday by the e-Crime Unit of London’s Metropolitan Police?

“The man arrested is believed to be linked to an ongoing international investigation in to the criminal activity of the so-called “hacktivist” groups Anonymous and LulzSec, and uses the online nickname “Topiary” which is presented as the spokesperson for the groups,” says in the press release by the Metropolitan Police.

The 19-year-old suspect was arrested at a residential address in the Shetland Islands (off the north coast of Scotland). The house is being searched and he has been transported to London.

At the same time, another youngster supposedly tied to the organizations is being interrogated and his house in Lincolnshire searched, but he was not arrested.

The Internet is all abuzz with the news, but did the police arrest the right person? Daily Tech’s blogger Jason Mick thinks that the British police was duped into arresting the wrong guy.

Topiary’s Twitter account sports only one message posted six days ago (“You cannot arrest an idea”), so it might seem that he is not in the position to update it. But, other things point to the idea that Topiary might not have anything to do with the Shetland Islands.

According to another group of hackers bent on exposing LulzSec’s members real-life identity, Topiary is known for changing online identities frequently and is supposedly a 23-year-old Swede living in Uppsala.

This supposition seems to be backed by a chat log published by anti-LulzSec hacktivist “The Jester”, in which the real Topiary says that he will try to make the police go for a “troll” that has been using his handle for the last year and who’s located somewhere in the UK.