The suspects - aged between 19 and 28 - are from Cardiff, London and Stoke-on-Trent and were held a week ago during a series of dawn raids by counter-terrorism officers.
They are also accused of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism - including carrying out reconnaissance and testing incendiary material. They will appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court in London.
In all 12 men, at least five of whom were of Bangladeshi origin, were held during the raids by unarmed police on December 20 in London, Cardiff, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham.
A men are driven to Westminster Magistrates Court today. The suspects - aged between 19 and 28 - are from Cardiff, London and Stoke-on-Trent and were held a week ago during a series of dawn raids by counter-terrorism officers
Two men from Cardiff and one from London have been released without charge.
The nine suspects are charged with conspiring to cause an explosion or explosions in the UK 'of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property' between October 1 and November 20 this year.
Accused: Mohammed Moksudur Rahman Chowdhury, one of nine men remanded in custody charged with planning an alleged pre-Christmas terror attack, leaves Westminster Magistrates Court in London in a police They are also accused of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism between October 1 and December 20, including by downloading and researching materials and methods; carrying out reconnaissance and agreeing potential targets, and igniting and testing incendiary material.
Those charged from Cardiff are Gurukanth Desai, 28; Omar Sharif Latif, 26; and Abdul Malik Miah, 24.
The two men charged from London are Mohammed Moksudur Rahman Chowdhury, 20, and Shah Mohammed Lutfar Rahman, 28.
Also charged are Stoke-on-Trent residents Nazam Hussain, 25; Usman Khan, 19; Mohibur Rahman, 26; and Abul Bosher Mohammed Shahjahan, 26.
Police officers searched the garden of a home in Stoke-on-Trent.
Sue Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division, said: 'I have today advised the police that nine men should be charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and with engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism with the intention of either committing acts of terrorism, or assisting another to commit such acts.
'Lawyers from the CPS Counter Terrorism Division have been working with the police on this case from an early stage and were on hand to give advice while the men were interviewed.
'I have reviewed the evidence provided to me by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and I am satisfied there is sufficient for a realistic prospect of conviction, and it is in the public interest that these men should be charged with these offences.'
Last week's raids came after several months of surveillance and monitoring by police and MI5 officers.
At the time, the
country's top counter-terrorism officer, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates, said it was 'absolutely vital' for the public to remain vigilant.
The operation was the most high-profile anti-terror raid in Britain since April 2009, when 12 men were detained across northern England.
All were released without charge but authorities still insisted they had thwarted an Al Qaeda bomb plot based in Manchester.
No comments:
Post a Comment