Woman convicted after she failed to alert police over possible terror plot

An investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command has led to the conviction of a woman who did not alert police about a potential terrorist plot of which she was aware.

Tasnia Ahmed, 21 (24.11.02), of east London (E14) was found guilty of two counts of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism to the police, contrary to section 38B of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Counter Terrorism detectives first identified Ahmed had committed potential offences as they were investigating Al Arfat Hassan. Hassan was sentenced in February this year after being convicted of collecting information likely to be useful for terrorism (under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000), and possession of chemicals for terrorism purposes (under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000).

During the course of their investigation into Hassan, officers found thousands of messages between him and a woman, whom they came to identify as Ahmed. Within the messages dating from November 2021 – March 2022 officers found clear evidence that Hassan had revealed his desire and intention to carry out acts of terrorism and that the pair had discussed his extremist views and intentions.

But instead of alerting police about the potential terrorist threat - which is required under law -officers found messages where Ahmed appeared to encourage him further.

Detective Chief Superintedent Gareth Rees, Head of Operations for the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Ahmed had clear knowledge of Hassan’s extremist views and that he had indicated to her that he was planning to carry out some sort of attack. Anyone who has that kind of information must tell police, because, ultimately, it could potentially prevent a terrible attack from happening and help save lives. Ahmed chose not to do this, and she is now facing the very serious consequences of that decision.”

“We would urge anyone who may find themselves in a similar position not to hesitate and to call police immediately with any concerns.”

Anyone with information about potential terrorist activity can report it, in confidence, by calling police on 0800 789 321, or online via www.gov.uk/ACT

In an emergency, always dial 999.

Hassan was arrested by police in March 2022, but even at that point, when Ahmed became aware of his arrest, and after officers had carried out a search at her home address, she still failed to tell police what she knew about Hassan’s potential terrorist plans.

Ahmed was interviewed under caution by officers in June 2022 and the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges against her in July 2022, when she was charged with the offences above. She was found guilty of the two offences on Thursday, 25 April, following a trial a Woolwich Crown Court and is due to be sentenced on 3 June.