Headline

Teen Terrorist Jailed For Life Over Plot To Attack Soldiers, Police

Published

11 months ago

June 2, 2023

Editor

A teenage Islamic State fanatic has been jailed for life for plotting a terror attack on British police officers and soldiers after being radicalised online during the pandemic.

Muslim convert, Matthew King, 19, expressed a desire to kill military personnel as he prepared to stake out a British Army barracks in Stratford, east London.

He discussed his plans and shared a “gory fantasy” with an online girlfriend with whom he struck up an adolescent flirtation, the Old Bailey heard.

His desires to launch an attack in Britain or travel to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State were thwarted when his mother reported him to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme.

Authorities were also tipped off through an anti-terrorist hotline after he posted a video on a WhatsApp group on April 13 last year.

While in custody, King had made violent threats to “behead an imam” and “kill and chop up staff,” the court was told.

In January, King, from Wickford in Essex, pleaded guilty to the preparation of terrorist acts between December 22, 2021 and May 17, 2022.

On Friday, he was handed a discretionary life sentence with a minimum term of six years in the first terrorism sentencing in England and Wales to be televised.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC praised King’s mother, saying, “She took the very bold step of alerting when she had concerns for her son. That cannot have been an easy thing to do in the first place and in my view, she absolutely did the right thing.”

Lucraft disclosed that King is a dangerous offender who carries a risk of future harm to the public, despite claims by his barrister that the defendant is on the path to de-radicalisation.

He told King, “I note that it would have been much easier for you to attack a police officer in the street than it would be for you to join ISIS in Syria and so, of the two terrorist acts you intended to carry out, the former was more likely than the latter on the evidence.”

Setting out aggravating factors, the judge said King was “motivated by hostility towards non-believers”, was in contact with other extremists, used aliases to hide his identity, and failed to heed warnings from his family and others in mosques.

In mitigation, Hossein Zahir KC said King is “immature” and the prospect that he would carry out either of his terrorist plans is “remote.”

The defence barrister argued that, despite incidents of “offensive and abusive” behaviour in custody, King is “slowly and steadily” disengaging from the excesses of extremism.

After the sentencing, Scotland Yard described King as a “committed, self-initiated terrorist” who “self-radicalised” online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said, “We had seen an escalation in Matthew King’s behaviour, in his reconnaissance, in his online activity.

“I genuinely believe this was an imminent terrorist attack. Without the public’s help and without the efficient investigation of my officers, officers from the eastern region and members of the intelligence community, we wouldn’t have been able to disrupt what, for me, was an imminent attack.”

Setting out the facts at a previous hearing, prosecutor Paul Jarvis had described how King had developed an “entrenched Islamist extremist mindset.”

In his early teens, King “dabbled with drugs” and was expelled from school after becoming aggressive, eventually leaving education entirely at the age of 16.

Around 2020, he became interested in Islam, began to attend mosques and watched Muslim videos on YouTube.

By May 2021, his family noticed he had become more extreme and his mother became concerned he was watching material online promoting hatred, Mr Jarvis said.

He had developed a friendship with a girl, identified in court only as ‘Miss A,” whom he met online.

He spoke of wanting to get his hands on an American or British Marine and told the girl, “I just wanna die a martyr.”

When Miss A appeared to support and encourage him, King responded, “I guess jihadi love is powerful. I just want to kill people.”

In further graphic chat, Miss A talked about torturing, mutilating and beheading a soldier and then cutting up the body parts.

As part of his terror attack planning, King set up an online account with the retailer Knife Warehouse, searched for ISIS tactical training videos in the use of knives and bought “tactical gloves” and goggles.

On one occasion, he went into his sister’s bedroom dressed in his combat outfit and asked if she liked his clothes.

King made videos as he checked out potential targets, including Stratford Army barracks, police officers outside Stratford Magistrates’ Court, and the railway station.

Some of his hostile reconnaissance videos were overlaid with nasheeds—Islamic chants—and he posted on Snapchat, “Target acquired.”

Meanwhile, King had searched the internet for terrorist killers, including the Manchester Arena bomber and Jihadi John.

While planning acts of terrorism in Britain, King had also expressed a desire to join the Islamic State in Syria and sought advice on a WhatsApp group about the best way to get there.

Authorities were alerted after King posted on WhatsApp an image of a male holding a knife with the words, “Those who said that there is no jihad and no battle. They are lying!”

King was arrested at his home on May 18 of last year by officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

He described his formal Islamic name as “Abdul Kalashnikov” and told police, “The only thing that is black and white is the sharia, the law of Allah.”

King’s barrister told the court that more recent conversations with his supportive family showed signs that the defendant was turning away from his radical beliefs.

And in a prison phone call, King told his mother, “I’m not extreme anymore.”

NAN

Headline

Find The Man Who Stole $30000 From Me, Get $2000 Reward – Nigerian Man Cries Out

Published

4 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Editor

Transaction details

A Nigerian man has offered a $2000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of a man who allegedly defrauded him and his friends of over N42 million (approximately $30,000 USD).

Addressing the public on X.com, he said, “Hi everyone, this person defrauded my friends and I.

“We will be offering $2,000 (USD) to anyone who has info on him or knows of his whereabouts.”

According to the victim, the suspect, who moved into the victim’s apartment, spun a web of lies, claiming to need financial assistance for various reasons, including a dying nephew and financial problems with the Federal Inland Revenue Services

He narrated, “Roughly three months ago, The dude in the video came to my apartment in Lagos sharing that he had some financial problems with the FIRS(Federal Inland Revenue Services).

“He mentioned how he got locked out of his funds of over N107,000,000 (USD 71,000+).

“We (my friends and I), were sympathetic to his cause and decided to lend a helping hand.”

The victim revealed that he first encountered the suspect on a gaming platform, Fortnite, in 2023.

They bonded over shared interests and his alleged profession as a skilled 3D and Motion Artist.

“I was happy to connect with him because he presented himself as a well-skilled 3D & Motion Artist.

“He also shared his Upwork profile with me, which was very convincing,” he added.

Detailing the events that unfolded, he said the suspect moved into their apartment in early February after a period of lodging in hotels and other residences.

He added that he even financed a computer rental for the suspect, who claimed it was essential for his work.

He wrote “Here is a detailed breakdown of the series of events that played out while he lived with us (myself and my flatmates):

“He was shuffling between hotels and apartments in January before he finally moved in with us early February

“He mentioned he needed a computer to continue working as he didn’t have any at the time, so, I offered to help with the rental.

“I sent him the money to purchase the computer on rental about three times and he never for once, received any computer.

“He kept on spinning lies around how there was either a delay or how the money miraculously went into thin air without achieving its purpose. At the time, I believed all these.

“We also had to raise about N1,700,000 to help assist with the admission of his dying nephew into the hospital because, according to him, the child had suffered internal bleeding after falling off a trampoline.

“He used this and other tactics to coerce us into giving him more cash.”

The victim revealed that in March, the suspect purportedly convinced him and his friend to accompany him to Abuja to address his FIRS-related issues.

He shared screenshots of transactions made to the suspect’s account, urging the public to scrutinise the details for evidence.

Headline

PHOTOS: Moment 23-year-old Miss Ecuador Beauty Queen Is Gunned Down In Hail Of Bullets

Published

4 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Editor

Shocking CCTV footage shows two gunmen bursting into an eatery before killing the former Miss Ecuador contestant.

The former beauty queen, seen in the footage wearing a blue top, was talking to a man when the gunman, circled, walked in

Landy Párraga Goyburo can be seen standing next to a man while chatting with him inside the restaurant.

She can be seen glancing towards the door as her assailant sneaks into the place without her noticing.

As the first gunman runs towards them, Párraga drops to the floor while the man next to her ducks for cover.

The masked attacker quickly opens fire, shooting towards both Párraga and the man.

He then stands over her as she lies helpless on the floor and appears to shoot her repeatedly at point blank range.

Both attackers then dash out of the door and flee the scene.

Images later showed the former beauty queen lying motionless on the floor in a pool of blood.

Cops are now investigating the murder while trying to identify the assailants.

Párraga was a former Miss Ecuador contestant, having represented Los Ríos Province in 2022.

She had more than a million followers across her social media accounts.

In December 2023, her name was mentioned in a chat made public by the Attorney General’s Office as part of a major organised crime case it is investigating.

One of the 52 people being prosecuted in the case is Helive Angulo.

In the chat, Angulo told the drug trafficker Leandro Norero, whose assets he managed, that the police had asked him about Párraga.

Norero cryptically wrote: “If my wife comes across anything about her, I’m screwed.

“My friend, her name cannot come out anywhere. Otherwise, my world will come crashing down.”

Norero was killed in prison in 2022, six months after his imprisonment.

Money transfers made to Párraga’s bank account are under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.

The office never prosecuted Párraga and she had never publicly commented on the case.

SOURCE: THE US SUN

Headline

Teenager Jailed For Life For Murder Of 16-year-old Boy At House Party

Published

21 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Editor

A teenager who stabbed Mikey Roynon, 16, to death with a “zombie knife” has been jailed for life.

Shane Cunningham, 16, fatally stabbed Mikey Roynon in the neck with a large hunting-style knife during a 16th birthday house party in Bath, Somerset in June 2023.

Mr Justice Saini sentenced him to life in jail with a minimum sentence of 16 years before he could be released for parole after he was convicted of murder.

Teenager jailed for life for murder of boy, 16, at house party
Shane Cunningham

His co-accused – Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight, both 16 – were convicted of manslaughter after being acquitted of the more serious charge.

A judge sentenced Bushnell to nine years of youth detention, while Knight was given nine-and-a-half years’ youth detention.

The judge ruled that all three could be identified despite their age after an application by the PA news agency.

Cunningham had claimed he was acting in self-defence, claiming during the trial that Mikey had swung a knife towards friends in the garden of the property. But the jury saw through his story following a trial at Bristol crown court.

Mikey collapsed on the driveway with heavy bleeding from a single knife wound to his neck.

Police, paramedics and doctors soon arrived at the scene in Weston, a north-west suburb of Bath, but Mikey died.

The defendants ran off and threw away their weapons, two of which were recovered by police.

Detective Inspector Mark Newbury said: “That three boys armed themselves with knives to go to a teenage girl’s 16th birthday party is utterly unconscionable.

“Mikey went to that party to socialise and to have a good time. Instead, he was attacked with a horrifying weapon, suffered a catastrophic injury and tragically lost his life.

“Mikey was a much loved teenage boy and his family have been left totally devastated.

“They have shown incredible bravery and have courageously spoken out against knife crime since his death, which is something they should never have to do.

“Since Mikey’s death, other young lives have been lost across our policing area and as a result we have launched a proactive operation to tackle and disrupt serious violence and knife crime involving young people.

“However, we know police enforcement alone won’t solve the problem and we’re working closely with our local authority partners, our colleagues in education and health and the Violence Reduction Partnership to identify the root causes and divert young people away from criminality.

“Our communities are also key and we’d like to encourage parents to talk to their children about knife crime – to make sure that they understand the terrible consequences carrying a knife can have and also how to report if they have concerns about someone they know carrying a knife.”