At Preston Crown Court, jurors found Walid Saadaoui, 38,of Tunisia and Amar Hussein, 52, of Kuwait, guilty of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024. A third defendant, Saadaoui’s younger brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was convicted of failing to disclose information about terrorist activity. Sentencing is set for February 13, reports the BBC.
Police said Walid Saadaoui was the driving force behind the plan. Investigators testified he sought to smuggle military-style firearms into the UK, including four AK-47 rifles, two handguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The court heard he believed he was coordinating with a fellow extremist known as “Farouk,” who was in fact an undercover operative.
According to evidence, Saadaoui paid a deposit for weapons months in advance and discussed multiple supply routes, including from eastern Europe and via Sweden. He also purchased an air weapon and visited a shooting range. Counterterrorism officers controlled the weapons pipeline to prevent public harm.
Prosecutors showed that Saadaoui used numerous Facebook accounts under fake names to circulate extremist content and to gather info about the Jewish community in Greater Manchester. Using one account, he joined a Facebook group tied to a large antisemitism march in the city center and later sent messages expressing intent to target Jews in Manchester.
In March 2024, Saadaoui and Hussein traveled to Dover to assess how firearms could be smuggled through the port. After returning north, Saadaoui conducted surveillance in Prestwich and Higher Broughton, focusing on Jewish schools, nurseries, synagogues, and shops.
On May 8, 2024, when Saadaoui was arrested in a Bolton hotel car park while attempting to collect weapons from a vehicle. Police said deactivated firearms and ammunition were found inside. Hussein and Bilel Saadaoui were arrested shortly afterward at separate locations.
Jurors also heard that Saadaoui prepared a will and left cash with his brother, telling others he intended to die during the attack. Bilel Saadaoui was not accused of planning to carry out violence, but the court found he knew of the scheme and failed to report it.
Both primary defendants denied the charges. Saadaoui claimed he was pretending to go along with the plan to later stop it. Hussein told detectives the allegations were false and dismissed the undercover evidence.
Greater Manchester Police said the convictions prevented what could have been one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in UK history. The court accepted the prosecution’s case that the operation was inspired by Islamic State ideology and targeted Jews as such.
