TERRORISM: Thirteen Men Arrested Under Terrorism Act in UK

Thirteen men have been arrested in London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Blackburn under the U.K�s anti terrorism laws. The men are all aged between 20-30 and have been arrested on the suspicion of involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.



There's not too much detail at the moment.

[edit on 8-3-2004 by Valhall]

Just thought I should point this out:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Ah, cheers. I only searched ATSNN as I thought that'd be its logical home.

Originally posted by MacKiller
Just thought I should point this out:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nothing wrong with that, you can have a ATSNN post and a ATS post on the same story.

I know

I was suggesting that he added it as one of his links to his story

I just drove the length of Preston Old Rd twice, and no sign of any activity at all. Not even a single police car/van or anything. I checked all the side streets too, but nothing.

Not even a single house with activity going on around it. Have they all been and gone? maybe they reported the wrong road?


[edit on 4-8-2004 by muppet]

According the BBC, the raid was carried out this afternoon, when a two men were stopped and arrested at gunpoint in in a gold mercedes car.

BBC's Daniel Sandford : video

So maybe no house searches in Blackburn.

update: the raid seems to have taken place in Cherry Tree, a suburb of Blackburn (judging from the BBC video). The Mercedes was traveling towards Blackburn town centre when it was stopped. It happened right next to a row of shops so there will be lots of witnesses. I'll ask around tomorrow

[edit on 3-8-2004 by muppet]

BBC are reporting that one of the arrested men has been released allready.

No furthur details as yet


Could be a little early to say this but these arrests could be Manchester all over again.

They also said that they have also started to carry out detaild secrches of their homes this was about 5 mins ago on the BBc and a 13th man has been taken in to custody.

They were searching a home in Bushey, They had the men it the white suites in there, The street was closed down, 3 police cars and an unmarked car,

looks like they have finished with that house as the road is open again,

so the people of uk are getting arrested for being suspicious? So i guess anarchy will be a form of terrorism.... thought crime anyone?

Update on this story:

Seems that one of the men caught was a terror leader of sorts,

One of al Qaeda's top agents in Britain is allegedly among 12 men arrested in anti-terror raids across England, reports say.


The unnamed man was arrested as a result of intelligence gathered after a recent raid in Pakistan.

Also there is talk that the man arrested in Pakistan had info on a plot to bomb Heatrow Airport!

link

Hmmm this might be interesting stuff.............. but maybe not.

Heads up folks the story is as follows - since 9/11 the UK cops have arrested 548 people and charged 14 with offences.

That's 14 charged, no convictions, out of 548 arrests. None at all. So far.

Reports of plots to do this, that and the other are all very well (and certainly sell a lot of newspapers) but who can remember the last time there was a major wave of arrests?

Who remembers the senior "AQ connected 'figures' " said to have been lifted and the so-called "plot to blow up Old Trafford soccer stadium (one of the UK largest 70 000 seats) that turned out to have been based on nothing more than an innocent asian guy being swept up in the arrests and him having 1/2 a ticket stub because he'd been to a game at the ground once?!

Proportion.

Update one of the 12 arrested is a Al-Qaeda chief it also said they where in advanced stages of an attack on Heathrow Airport which got me thinking that I just recently covered a story relateing to terror paper going missing involving airports; Could this have anything to-do with who was cought today.



ATSNN 7
Sky News


[edit on 04-07-2004 by SE7EN]

More details on the Blackburn raids, from the local paper.

Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Armed Metropolitan Police officers swooped in Preston Old Road, Cherry Tree, at around 3.30pm yesterday as part of a nationwide operation.
.....
A terrace house in Shakeshaft Street, Audley, Lower Audley Tyre Centre, Bennington Street, and houses in Greenhead Avenue, Little Harwood, and Whalley New Road, were searched by officers at 9.30pm.
.....
A man who said he was related to the owner of the house in Audley, said: "My uncle owns the house but he is in Pakistan at the moment.
.....
"There have been forensic officers in there and we have been told they are looking for explosives but they have been given the wrong information."

A police officer remained on duty outside the address today.

A bit of local knowledge. The Merc was stopped in what must have been a pre-planned ambush, given the number of police on the scene so quickly.

The road was the main route into Blackburn for anyone approaching from Manchester International Airport or London. the level of organization suggest this wasn't short local journey, so it seems the car was coming from out of town. According to local radio, the gold Merc was known by locals in the Audley area.

The location chosen also offers an easy shortcut to the other route as well, and there would have been at least five minutes after the known route was chosen in which to switch sites. Tactically a very good place to carry out a planned raid.




[edit on 4-8-2004 by muppet]

new news is that Al Quieda are planning to Attack merchant navy ships
in the UK,

Im not sure if this info is from one of these men or from the men arrested in pakistan,

This is only just breaking here in the UK so i have no links to this story yet,

This what I see, If Al-queda is supposedly broken down and with not were to hide and US administration won over Al-queda, how come this people are able to plan so much and all over the world?

It seems to me that with all the planning and all the resources Al-queda is well funded and very much alive when it keeps US and UK on his toes and on high alerts all the time.

Instead of lying to the public and tell US that the world is a better place and a safer place the administration should come with the truth and that is:

The administration and neither US allies have a clue were Al-queda is, what they are planning or when they are going to attack and they are still powerful enough to scare the heck o

There a some reports that the Merc was involved in a 100mph chase through Blackburn, like this one from the Daily Record (a minor tabloid)

Judging by the location though this is unlikely, and no named witnesses or more reliable news sources have mentioned this. They may have been followed up the motorway at 100mph, but that's not an unusual speed in the uk.

Also, word on the street is both people in the Merc are locals, who own a tire import company in the Audley area(one of the locations which was searched). The live in another part of Blackburn, and their house(s) were amongst the others searched. Their company website is still up and running at www.la-tyres.com.... There are known in the community, and certainly not suspected as being terrorists!



[edit on 5-8-2004 by muppet]

A senior al-Qaeda suspect who uses the alias Abu Eisa Al Hindi - who was allegedly plotting an attack in Britain - is being held by Scotland Yard after information was received from Pakistani intelligence agencies.Police believe he is a key player in al-Qaeda's European operation.

Scotland Yard would not say whether Abu Eisa was among those arrested during an operation on Tuesday, when 13 men were detained in a series of raids around the country, or had been held earlier. Police believe he is a key player in al-Qa'eda's European operation and security sources praised the role of Pakistan intelligence in his capture

Senior al-Qa'eda suspect seized in Britain


It also emerged that Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, an al-Qaeda computer expert arrested in Pakistan last month, was planning an attack on Heathrow airport

Pakistan � Pakistan gave British authorities images of London's Heathrow Airport and other sites that were found on the computers of two Al Qaeda fugitives arrested last month, intelligence officials said Thursday.

Several news reports in Britain said one of the suspects arrested late Tuesday, variously identified as Abu Eisa al-Hindi or Abu Musa al-Hindi, was believed to be a senior member of Al Qaeda and had been plotting an attack on Heathrow

The British reports said al-Hindi, using the code name Bilal, had been in contact with Khan

Pakistan Suspects Had Heathrow Pics

[edit on 5-8-2004 by Riwka]

Further reports from the local news, regarding the Blackburn arrests and searches.

Searched! 'Because I wanted to change a faulty tyre'

A MAN caught up in a major anti-terrorism investigation today claimed he had been targeted because of where he had bought a new car tyre. Police have spent two days searching the Blackburn home of businessman Ayub Patel, 34, as part of a national operation. But today he claimed his family had been forced to endure the harrowing ordeal because he had visited a tyre centre at the centre of the inquiry three times in one day.

Suspects Junaid Feroze, of Malham Gardens, and Zamir Hussain, of Shakeshaft Street, were arrested by armed officers in Cherry Tree on Tuesday. Junaid's brother is the owner of Lower Audley Tyre Centre, which is one of five local premises searched by police.

Police 'turn up nothing'

A BUSINESSMAN today claimed police had failed to turn up anything after two days of searching his premises.

Lower Audley Tyres, in Blackburn, was one of five addresses raided this week as part of anti-terror investigations, but was open as usual today. Owner Javaid Feroze's brother Junaid, 28, and his friend Zamir Hussain, 24, were arrested in an anti-terror swoop by Metropolitan Police in Cherry Tree on Tuesday.

Junaid's home in Malham Gardens, Zamir's house in Shakeshaft Street, both Audley, and the Feroze family home in Whalley New Road were also searched.

Javaid said his business had had its image tarnished over the past two days. Police finally allowed him back into the premises at 12.30pm yesterday. He said: "All they took was a hard drive to my PC, one alloy wheel, one printer and one broken mobile phone.
.......

"Many people have been very supportive and sympathetic towards me. The police have left the place in a real mess and they walked away with nothing. They damaged some locks, doors and even the coffee machine for some reason.

We have spoken to the solicitor representing my brother and he says Junaid is well, but hadn't been interviewed yet. That's all we know."
....
Ray Booth, a close friend of Javaid's and whose business is situated next to Lower Audley Tyres, said: "Javiad and his brothers are hard-working, honest people. "Javaid always puts others before himself and it is a pleasure to have known him for the past 15 years. He has friends from all backgrounds and is a highly-respected businessman."

In all then this seems to account for all the raids in Blackburn.

Obviously we don't know what intelligence the raids were based on, but judging by reports from family and friends, terrorist connections are looking doubtful.