Five men arrested last week during anti-terrorist police raids in southeast England were charged on Thursday with involvement in an alleged bomb plot, police said.
Two other men who had been arrested in the raids were released on bail pending further inquiries, London's Metropolitan Police said.
Three of the five men were charged under anti-terrorism legislation with possessing 600kg of a potentially explosive fertilizer for possible use in an act of terrorism.
Police released no details of the alleged conspiracy.
More than 700 police officers were involved in the anti-terrorist operation that ended with arrests of nine men, all of them British citizens, on March 30 and April 1 in London and several suburban towns.
One 17-year-old suspect was charged on Tuesday with an explosives offense not covered by the UK's terrorism laws. Another 27-year-old suspect was initially freed but then immediately arrested again, on suspicion of deception, and released Wednesday on bail.
On Thursday, Anthony Garcia, 21, Omar Khyam, 22, and Nabeel Hussain, 18, were charged under terms of the Terrorism Act with possessing an article for terrorist purposes.
The three were charged with possessing the ammonium nitrate-based fertilizer between Nov. 11 last year and March 31. Police alleged they kept it at a self-storage warehouse in Hanwell, west London.
The charge specified they possessed the fertilizer "in circumstances which gave rise to reasonable suspicion that ... possession was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism."
Garcia, Khyam, Jawad Akbar, 20, and Waheed Mahmoud, 32, were also charged with an explosives offense that falls under ordinary British criminal law -- that they "unlawfully and maliciously" conspired with others between Oct. 1 last year and March 31 this year to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or damage property.
Police did not explain why Hussain was charged with possessing the fertilizer but not with conspiring with the others charged.
All five men are scheduled to appear at Belmarsh Magistrates Court, southeast London, today.
Two other men, aged 19 and 21, whom police did not identify by name, were released after questioning under anti-terrorism powers, immediately rearrested, then released once again on bail, police said.
The 21-year-old was re-arrested for alleged forgery and theft, and the 19-year-old was re-arrested for alleged theft and deception. Police gave no further details of the allegations against the two but said they would have to return to court in July.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS