Birmingham man jailed after video showing how to make a bomb found on phone

Adam Mahmood was sentenced to four years after he was found guilty of a single count of possessing a recording likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism after a week-long trial in September at Birmingham Crown Court.

The court had head about how the 20-year-old, from Platt Brook Way in Sheldon, was arrested from his home in April 2024 in connection with disseminating extreme terrorism material and his phone was seized.

Following analysis of the phone, a 15 minute video was identified which detailed how to make an explosive, with the jury at Birmingham Crown Court having heard evidence that Mahmood had specifically searched for this particular video.

Other propaganda material such as videos of executions were also found on the phone.

Messages were found detailing conversations about making a sword and a part-made sword was found at his home, as well as a number of weapons being found when his bedroom was searched including several knives.

In police interviews, West Midlands Police said Mahmood had agreed he had written the posts as well as admitting that the weapons found at his home were his, but he denied he was a terrorist.

Detective Chief Superintendent Alison Hurst, who leads Counter Terrorism Policing in the West Midlands, said: "Videos found on Mahmood’s phone were dangerous and showed extreme violence.

"The instructional video was assessed by an expert who considered that the guide was easy to follow even for someone with no previous training in explosive manufacturing and therefore incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands."

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Anyone who sees or hears something that could be terrorist-related should act on their instincts and call the police in confidence on 0800 789 321.

"In an emergency, always dial 999. Visit gov.uk/ACT for more information, including how to report extremist or terrorist content that is online."