Four men have been jailed for almost 30 years after a WhatsApp group was used to share terrorism propaganda and arrange funding in support of the banned Islamic State.
Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands CTU identified three of the men involved in terrorism-related activities between 2022 and 2023.
A four men have been jailed for a combined total of almost 30 years after a WhatsApp group was used to share terrorism propaganda and arrange funding in support of the banned Islamic State.
One of them, Mohammed Hamad, this week admitted two offences connected to the dissemination of terrorism propaganda at Liverpool Crown Court. He was arrested by officers from an address in Liverpool in March last year.
The 30-year-old was today jailed for four years.
The conclusion of the case has led to the lifting of reporting restrictions, meaning it can now be revealed that three other men were previously convicted of being involved in connected offences.
Roshman Azad Wali Saeed, aged 30 from Birmingham, was convicted of six counts of dissemination of terrorism publications and entering terrorism funding activities following a trial. He was jailed for 12 years at Birmingham Crown Court in April last year.
Tshko Ahmad Mohamad, aged 33 from West Bromwich, was convicted of fundraising for terrorism during the same trial and sentenced to seven years.
They were linked to the chat group following the arrest of Omar Hussain Ahmadi from Stansted Airport by colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing South East in April 2023.
He was found with £7,000 hidden in baby milk powder tins and his mobile phone was seized.
The 24-year-old from Sheffield was jailed for five years and seven months after pleading guilty to being involved in a terrorism funding arrangement at Birmingham Crown Court last December.
Across the whole investigation, searches from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands led to more than £4,000 in cash, over 30 SIM cards and well over a dozen mobile phones being seized.
Messages were translated and numerous were found to clear express support for the banned Islamic State organisation, along with graphic images and videos.
Detective Superintendent Annie Miller, from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, said: “It’s clear all these men were involved in supporting Islamic State. The group chat was used to promote propaganda and arrange to raise money in the UK to then send to IS to support their activities.
“It is entirely unacceptable to promote terrorism and we will not hesitate to investigate online behaviour or content which breaches terrorism or other criminal legislation.”
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