A teenage extremist who bought an illicit firearm and planned to target Old Trafford and Manchester Arena as well as local schools has been jailed for 13 years.
Muhammad Billal, 19, from Nelson, Lancashire purchased the gun on a secret online forum and researched shooting ranges and crowded places before attempting to join the Islamic State, using the cover of a football fan travelling abroad.
He was advised to put footballers on his phone and then searched online for ‘Ronaldo wallpaper’ – a reference to the Portuguese player – in an attempt to fool the authorities while trying to leave the UK.
However Billal was stopped at Manchester Airport on his way to Dubai, when officers examined his phone, only to find several copies of an online magazine published by ISIS as well as details of the firearm he had purchased.
Simon Gurney KC, prosecuting, said Billal’s intention was ‘abundantly clear, he was determined to carry out that intention and came very close to doing so. He was only prevented by the intervention of the authorities’.
The Old Bailey heard that he began accessing Islamic State videos calling on their followers to ‘rise up against the infidels’ from the age of 17, spending up to five hours a day viewing material and falling asleep listening to Islamic State chants.
He looked up the leadership of the group, maps, recent attacks, ISIS wallpapers and logos and references to the executioner known as Jihadi John. He also purchased a balaclava online.
Billal went on to search for anti-Jewish imagery, ISIS in Palestine, weapons on the West Bank and ‘where do under 18 go for murder EU’.
Muhammad Billal, 19, admitted planning a terrorist attack with a gun and trying to travel to a training camp in Somalia. He has now been jailed for more than 13 years
On March 16, 2024, Billal searched for how to buy a gun, visiting websites offering guns for sale in the UK, including one called Gunstar, which described itself as ‘the UK’s leading guns marketplace.’
He browsed semi-automatic rifles, and a number of AK47s costing around £850 and, four days later, he recorded an audio message on his phone proclaiming support for Islamic State and ‘death to America’.
A few hours later he searched for ‘big dagger’ and viewed websites selling different types of hunting knives but then returned to trying to purchase firearms on a site called Gun Trader on March 25.
He began by researching military bases in the UK as a target before moving on to a college and public swimming pool in Nelson on April 12.
By July 4, Billal was searching for information about the location of primary and secondary schools in the Colne area of Lancashire.
By September 1, he was looking for crowded locations in his local area, including nightclubs, busy streets, Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly railway stations, Manchester Cathedral and the AO Arena – the site of the Manchester Arena bombing.
On September 3, Billal searched for churches using Google Maps and viewed two Catholic churches in Manchester.
He conducted similar online reconnaissance of locations on September 9, viewing the Trafford shopping centre, the Manchester Convention Centre, Old Trafford stadium, which is home to Manchester United football club, and local universities, before searching for ‘jew’ and viewing synagogues in the local area.
The searches continued on September 15, 16, and 17 and on September 30 he returned to looking at a school in Colne and, an hour later, for how many rounds of ammunition an AK-47 magazine held.
However, on October 5, Billal ‘changed his focus’ after contacting a user called Abu Sayf ar-Rumi on the Simplex Chat application who mentioned the need to encourage ‘brothers to make hijra’ (emigrate) to the Islamic State.
Billal said he had bought ‘something’ and sent a gun emoji, sending a link to a Telegram channel of an online marketplace for firearms and saying he was ‘not hundred percent sure’ it was real but was ‘waiting for delivery.’
He explained that he had spent £660 paid up front in Bitcoin with £600 cash to be paid on delivery but was also expecting to receive £500 from crypto trading.
On October 7, he messaged Rumi to discuss his travel options to Somalia, including the option of flying via Dubai to give the impression to the authorities of taking a holiday in Dubai.
The following day Billal messaged stating: ‘I think I’m ready, I got 1,367’ because the firearms dealer had given him a partial refund.
On November 7, Billal was contacted by another user on the Simplex Chat application who told him ‘don’t leave anything from Islam’ on his phone and advised him to put music and footballers on the phone and Billal then searched online for ‘Ronaldo wallpaper’ – a reference to the Portuguese footballer.
Billal was stopped at Manchester Airport on November 20, 2024, on his way to Dubai and his iPhone examined.
Four copies of an online magazine published by Islamic State called Rumiyah were identified and he was arrested and questioned but then released on bail.
However, when police examined the phone further they found details of the gun purchase and Billal was arrested again on February 11 last year.
Billal told police that he was not a violent person and had been travelling to Ethiopia on vacation for ‘some sunshine’.
He was jailed for 13 and a half years after pleading guilty to two charges of preparing acts of terrorism and four charges of possessing material useful for terrorism.
The court heard that Billal was an Italian national of Pakistani origin who moved to the UK when he was 13 but suffered from autism and became isolated, failing most of his GCSEs, dropped out of school and rarely left his room.
The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said he was motivated by Islamic State ideology and a desire for martyrdom and was ‘prepared to kill members of the public in the United Kingdom‘.
His change of plan was not because he had abandoned terrorism, ‘you changed route’ she said.
The court heard that even when he was released on bail, Billal immediately sought to book another flight but did not have a bank card.
Prison Officers conducting a search of Billal’s cell at HMP Wormwood Scrubs on April 16 last year found an envelope containing a drawing of an ISIS flag and handwritten content glorifying the cause of Islamic State, along with a piece of card with ‘Anjem Choudhury HMP Milton’ written on it, a reference to the jailed extremist preacher Anjem Choudary.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Chadwick, head of Counter-Terrorism Policing North West, said: ‘The offences Muhammad Billal has been convicted of are amongst the most serious charges that can be brought against an individual.
‘Our investigation into his actions has been meticulous and we have been able to gather evidence which shows a firm intent to engage in acts of terrorism.
‘Although he changed his focus from committing an act of terrorism in the UK to committing offences in another country, the level of detail he researched in preparation of an attack here shows the risk he presents to the public.’
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