Preston teenager who had 'bomb making instructions' jailed for terrorism charges

A teenager found with "viable bomb making instructions" has been jailed for nearly four years.

Mohammed Afzal, 18, posted extremist material that was deemed to "encourage terrorism", Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He also collected terrorist information, including directions on how to make a bomb.

Afzal, from Preston, was jailed for three years and nine months after pleading guilty to four offences relating to the spreading of terrorist content, and four offences relating to collecting terrorist information.

Officers first became aware of Afzal, and began investigating his online activities, after he started posting extremist-related material on social media.

He was arrested on 29 June 2022 on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and the dissemination of terrorist publications, and a number of electronic devices were seized from his home address.

But, he refused to provide the passcodes for the seized devices and he was released under investigation.

When police were able to extract material from his phone a number of terrorist related documents were found.

Social media accounts linked to Afzal were also found to contain a large amount of extremist material deemed to encourage terrorism.

Afzal was re-arrested on 5 October 2022 on suspicion of collecting and disseminating terrorist material but refused to answer any questions during his interview.

Detective Superintendent Andy Meeks of CTPNW said: “Counter Terrorism Police North West is working tirelessly to ensure that people like Afzal are identified, arrested, and brought before the courts.

"We will not accept any action that attempts to divide our communities and will hold to account anyone who seeks to incite hatred.

“The public are key to helping us achieve this and I would encourage anyone who is aware of extremist material online – whether that be posts, websites, or any activity of concern – to report it to police so we can act on it.”