A joint Counter Terrorism operation between officers in the North West and London sees two men jailed for funding terrorism

A joint Counter Terrorism operation between officers in the North West and London sees two men jailed for funding terrorism.

30-year-old Said Mohammed (18/05/89), of Belvedere Road, Longsight, Manchester, along with his associate 29-year-old Ayub Nurhussein (07/09/90) from Stockwell, London sent funds of approximately £2,700 to Islamist places of war.

Today (Friday 24 April 2020), Mohammed was jailed at the Old Bailey for five years and three months and Nurhussein for nine years and six months respectively.

Counter Terrorism Police North-West (CTPNW), working jointly with the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) disrupted the pair’s illegal financial activities after launching an investigation back in 2018. The pair were found to be sending money via Denmark to contacts believed to be in Iraq– supporting Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria. This occurred on three separate occasions between April and July 2019.

On Tuesday 16 July 2019, both Mohammed and Nurhussein were arrested for terrorism offences in simultaneous strikes by officers from CTPNW and CTC. The coordinated operation saw officers seize large quantities of digital media, including mobile phones. A forensic assessment of these devices revealed the men’s plans around funding terrorism.

In January 2020, Mohammed pleaded guilty at a pre-trial hearing to one count of arranging funds or property for the purposes of terrorism contrary to Section 17 TACT 2000.

During a trial at the Old Bailey in March 2020, Nurhussein pleaded guilty to one count of arranging funds or property for the purpose of terrorism, contrary to section 17 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000. He had previously pleaded guilty at a pre-trial hearing in January 2020 to four counts of possession of a document or record containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to section 58 TACT, 2000 and three counts of disseminating terrorist material under Section 2 TACT 2006.

Detective Superintendent Will Chatterton, Head of Investigations at Counter Terrorism Police North West, said: “Today’s result demonstrates the strength of being part of a Counter Terrorism network that spans the UK. The joint work during this investigation ensured a terrorist cell was disrupted and that those involved faced justice.

“I would like to take this opportunity to those who have worked hard to bring about this successful prosecution and I hope it demonstrates to our communities our absolute determination to keep people safe.”

Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “I am very pleased with today’s sentences.

“The Met works with other police forces and security services to provide a counter terrorism network, both at home and abroad, whose strength and effect is continually felt by those who conspire to commit acts of violence and terror.

“Today’s result was a direct consequence of that network. Working with our counter terrorism network colleagues in Manchester, we quickly identified the activity of these two individuals, who contrived to get money to Daesh, and have brought them to justice.”

Any suspicious behaviour or activity can be reported via the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) website at www.gov.uk/ACT or alternatively, call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline in confidence on 0800 789 321

Always call 999 in an emergency.