A group of UK-based Islamic extremists used charity convoys taking food and medicine to Syria as a cover to smuggle money to terrorists, a court has heard.
The four men allegedly sent £4,500 to a fighter with Al Qaeda-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra so he could buy a sniper rifle and other military equipment. They also plotted to set up a 'night team' of terrorist snipers in the war-torn country, it was claimed.
Syed Hoque, 37, is said to have supplied cash to the terrorist, his nephew Mohammed Choudhury, 26, and discussed the beheading of enemies.
Mashoud Miah, 27, is said to have acted as a 'fixer' while Mohammed Hussain, 30, and Pervez Rafiq, 46, allegedly sourced equipment to be sent to Syria on charity convoys.
The plot was uncovered when Hoque and his wife Nazia Khanom were stopped at Heathrow Airport on their return from Bangladesh on 5 August 2014. Analysis of the contents of their phones later revealed Whatsapp chats to Hoque's nephew Mohammed Choudhury, who was fighting with Jabhat al-Nusra, the terrorist wing of Al Qaeda in Syria. Messages are said to have showed that Hoque had supplied his nephew with money and discussed buying a Dragunov sniper rifle, AK-47 and a nightscope.
