A man has been found guilty of terrorism offences following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London.
Yusuf Shah was 16 years old when he was stopped at Heathrow under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act in January 2024. His phone was seized and further electronic devices were seized and analysed after a search at his home in April 2024.
It was discovered that Shah had been had been active on social media discussing religion since 2021, when he was 13. From the end of 2022, he had been expressing his support for the activities of terrorist groups such as Al Qaida and Tehrik-e-Taliban.
The teenager also offered technical advice to the terrorist groups, including advice on cyber security and how to avoid detection when making cryptocurrency payments.
The search of his devices showed that Shah had had accessed an online magazine published by Al Qaida that contained practical information on how to carry out various different acts of terrorism. He had also downloaded documents providing instructions on how to make explosives and explosive devices and documents that included instructions on the use of different types of weapons.
The now 18-year-old has now been found guilty of one count of entering into or becoming concerned in an arrangement as a result of which money or other property is made available or is to be made available to another, contrary to section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and one count of providing instruction or training and at the time knew that a person receiving it intended to use the training in connection with the commission of preparation of acts of terrorism or for assisting the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 6(1)(a) of the Terrorism Act 2000.
He was also convicted of three counts of collecting terrorist materials, contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Shall will be sentenced on 16 September.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London said: “Our investigation showed that Shah was being drawn into extremist and terrorist material and ideologies when he was only 13 or 14 years old. This is reflective of a growing trend and concern over children and young people being radicalised and accessing extremely dangerous and violent terrorist ideologies and material online.
“Even at the age of just 16, Shah had enough knowledge of the online world to be able to provide practical advice to terrorist groups on how to make anonymous cryptocurrency payments.
“It is vital that parents and carers are aware of what children are doing on the internet, especially if they are accessing social media platforms. I would implore you to have conversations, to be inquisitive about what your children are doing online, and if you have any concerns, then there is help available to you via the ACT Early website."
