Uber driver, 28, plotted terror attacks on Madame Tussauds and Gay Pride to ‘unleash death’
AN UBER driver who plotted to ‘unleash death’ in jihadist attacks on Madame Tussauds and Gay Pride has been found guilty of terror offences today.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 28, was convicted just over a year after he was cleared of a sword attack on police outside Buckingham Palace.
His sister Sneha Chowdhury, 25, wept as she was convicted of one count of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.
The brother and sister hugged in the dock at Woolwich Crown Court and Chowdhury could be heard whispering: “It’s all right.”
His jihadist plot was fuelled by ‘dreams of martyrdom’ as he planned gun, knife and van attacks on Madame Tussauds, the Gay Pride parade and an open-top sightseeing bus last year, the court heard.
But his plans were thwarted after he encouraged an undercover cop to research potential attack targets.
‘KILL AND HARM’
Chowdhury shared details of his preparation with officers and encouraged them to get involved in the potential attacks, the court heard.
He lifted weights, practised stabbing, rehearsed beheading and booked shooting-range training to prepare for an atrocity.
Chowdhury also tried to acquire a gun as he plotted to unleash carnage on the capital’s streets, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said Chowdhury desired to “unleash death and suffering” on non-Muslims after being brainwashed by sermons from hate preachers like al Qaida’s Anwar Al-Awlaki.
The extremist longed “to kill and harm as many people as possible”, Scotland Yard counter terror commander Richard Smith told reporters.
Chowdhury told one undercover officer he was free to attack one million unbelievers if he was fighting for “the pleasure of Allah”.
In a secretly taped recording from June last year, Chowdhury can be heard saying: “If you’re one man and there’s a million kuffar (unbelievers), you are free to fight them, if your intentions are clear, you’re fighting for the pleasure of Allah.
“And if you die that’s completely fine, it’s even more virtuous, you know.”
He later added during the conversation: “It must be an ambush … we should be the one doing it first, they shouldn’t know what’s hit them, yeah, does that make sense?”
TERROR PLOTTER
In December 2018, Chowdhury had been cleared of slashing police with a sword outside Buckingham Palace while shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
Jurors heard he had written a letter to his sister saying “he was going to be with Allah in paradise” and “the Queen and her soldiers will all be in the hellfire”.
That same morning, Chowdhury drove his van into traffic cones outside Buckingham Palace, and proceeded to attack officers with a sword, the court heard.
He had bragged about deceiving the jury in his trial.
In court today, he remained emotionless as jurors found him guilty of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.
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Chowdhury was also convicted of collecting information likely to be useful to someone preparing an act of terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications.
The second charge related to a document titled ‘guidance for doing just terror operations’ on his phone which included instructions on how to kill people with knives.
He will be sentenced by judge Andrew Lees on March 13, with Sneha Chowdhury bailed for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
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