Uber driver planned terror attacks on Madame Tussauds and Pride parades

An Uber driver cleared of launching a Samurai sword attack on police outside Buckingham Palace went on to plan another attack on tourists in London, a court heard today.

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 28, from Luton, was ‘motivated by dreams of martyrdom for the cause of Islam, and inspired by preachers of hate,’ a jury at Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Duncan Atkinson QC, prosecuting, said Chowdbury was ‘keen to take part in an attack on a high profile and very public target in the UK.’

The targets mentioned included Madame Tussauds in London, the Gay Pride parade, and an attack on tourists on a London open-top tour bus, the jury was told.

‘The object was to unleash death and suffering on non-Muslim members of the public who happened to be present, using a firearm, sword and even a van as part of an attack,’ the prosecutor said.

Chowdhury told undercover officers that he had indeed been trying to carry out a terrorist attack in 2017 and that he had ‘deceived’ the earlier jury that acquitted him of it, the court was told.

Chowdhury is accused of accused of preparing acts of terrorism and his sister Sneha Chowdhury, 25, is accused of failing to disclose information.

His sister had ‘better reason than anyone to understand what her brother was thinking, and wanting to achieve,’ Mr Atkinson said.

‘Whilst she may have hoped that it was all over when he was released from prison, and that his acquittal meant that he had not meant those things, his actions and his conversations with her once he was released in late December 2018 showed quite the opposite.’

Chowdhury purchased a replica Glock gun and told undercover officers what he was planning to do and why.

‘He told them of his training regime, and sought to involve them in his firearms-related training,’ Mr Atkinson said.

‘He told them of what he was wanting and planning to do, and sought to involve them in the carrying out of one or more terrorist attacks.’

In the lead-up to the incident outside Buckingham Palace on August 25, 2017, Chowdhury’s activities over the internet and on social media made it clear that he was a supporter of Islamic extremism, and ISIS in particular, the court heard.

Chowdhury told the jury in that case that his appearance with a sword outside Buckingham Palace had been an attempt at suicide, not an attack.

However, within days of his acquittal in December 2018, Chowdhury posted a story on Instagram extolling the virtues of martyrdom for Allah and an image of the police officer who had wrestled the sword away from him outside Buckingham Palace, calling him a ‘cuck’.

In January 2019, he posted a series of Islamic quotations on Instagram, including reference to paradise, adding: ‘Know that paradise is under the shade of swords’.

Days later Chowdhury started enquiries into firearms training, and started ‘preparations to undertake that which he had been stopped from doing in 2017, an act of terrorism,’ Mr Atkinson said.

On 10 March 2019, his sister’s bank account was used to purchase two Red Oak ‘Bokken’ 40 inch wooden training swords which were delivered to the home address.

The house had been bugged and recordings picked up Chowdhury showing his sister how to use them six days later, saying: ‘Let’s fight here for a little bit then you do the study. You attack first and then I attack first.

‘This is how, how I would strike yeah if I was running up to a person, no someone like that yeah what I would do is I run up hold the blade like that and then I would stab it like that indeed.’

Chowdhury made a reference to PC Ian Midgley, who was injured in his initial attack, saying: ‘You know that Midgley character, you remember what he said, he said in the 20 years [in the police] that was the first time yeah he felt like he fought for his life.’

And on April 2, Chowdhury told his sister: ‘I need to practice decapitation techniques and it’s not gonna be like you know what I mean you can’t do it in the garden.’

On June 20, Chowdhury told his sister that he was giving his notice in to work, adding: ‘I’m doing another attack bruv.’

His sister said that he was just having a ‘down day’ but Chowdhury told her: ‘No I’m serious bro it’s about time now.’

It is alleged that between January 12 and July 3 last year, Mohiussunnath booked a firearms training course, requested and selected a firearm and researched potential attack targets and asked another person to do the same.

It is also alleged that he undertook weight and fitness training, martial arts training and purchased and trained with wooden training swords called bokkens.

Mohiussunnath, a university drop out and former Uber driver, is charged under section 5 (1)(a) of the Terrorism Act 2006.

He also allegedly disseminated a terrorist video called ‘The Establishment of the Islamic State Pt 6’ on March 19 last year.

A third charge accuses him of possession of an ISIS instructional manual called ‘Guidelines for doing just terror operations’ on July 3.

Sneha Chowdhury is accused of two charges of failing to disclose information about terrorism between January 24 and July 3 last year under section 38B (2) of the Terrorism Act 2000

It is alleged she had information which she knew or believed might be of material assistance in preventing the commission of an act of terrorism and failed to disclose the information as soon as reasonably practicable to a police officer.

Source: Daily Mail