Detectives hunting the "nightstalker" - one of Britain's most wanted serial rapists - have arrested a 52-year-old man.
The Metropolitan Police launched Operation Minstead to investigate more than 100 attacks on the elderly in the south London area dating back to the 1990s.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm a 52-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of this morning in a pre-planned operation.
"He is currently in custody at a London police station."
Earlier this month, the Met Police revealed detectives have obtained more than 2,000 DNA samples from suspects as part of the 12-year inquiry at a cost of £102,700.
A team of 29 police officers and staff based at Lewisham police station are investigating sex attacks on men and women aged between 68 and 93 as part of Operation Minstead.
The incidents took place in clusters in south and south-east London, including Dulwich, Orpington, Norwood, Downham, Lee, Croydon, West Wickham and Bickley. The "nightstalker" has eluded detectives despite facing a huge range of police tactics, from surveillance to the offer of a £40,000 reward.
The criminal has a distinctive pattern of behaviour, often disabling telephone lines and fuse boxes before breaking into the homes of vulnerable people. Some of the victims were raped and sexually assaulted.
Their attacker was often described as wearing a mask and waking people by shining a torch in their faces. Police said victims' ordeals sometimes went on for hours.
The total number of raids linked to the man labelled the "nightstalker" during his 19-year reign of terror is at least 108.
