Man guilty of possessing bomb-making video

Judge Simon Drew KC said it had been 'an extremely serious case'

A man has been found guilty of possessing a bomb making video which explained how to make explosives similar to those previously used in UK terror attacks.

Adam Mahmood, 20, of Platt Brook Way, Sheldon, Birmingham could now expect a sentence "measured in years not months," Birmingham Crown Court heard.

The video, provided "a detailed guide" to producing an explosive substance with a detonator and shrapnel to make a complete bomb, the prosecution had told the court.

Mahmood, who claimed he initially watched the video on fast-forward, had then skipped over parts of the film and "didn't really think anything of it", will be sentenced on 19 November.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court deliberated for under two hours before unanimously convicting the former motor mechanics student of a single count of possessing a recording likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The week-long trial was told the TikTok user had more than 27,000 followers and had asked another user to send him the 14-minute instructional video via the Telegram app.

He received it in October 2023 and last accessed the video on 24 March last year, the court heard.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Sahil Sinha said a photograph of Mahmood associated with his social media account showed him wearing a balaclava and featured various weapons, including an axe and a sword.

After his arrest in April 2024 several knives and two sharpeners were found in his bedroom.

During police interviews Mahmood agreed that the weapons were his, but claimed they were linked to an interest in a Turkish TV drama about the Ottoman empire.

'Extremely serious case'

Defence barrister Ben Hargreaves asked for his Mahmood's tag-monitored bail to be extended until he is sentenced on 19 November and said his client was facing a term "measured in years not months".

But Judge Simon Drew KC rejected the application and said it was an extremely serious case.

"I have seen material that your client engaged in looking at beyond the indictment. It's clearly an area that raises serious issues of risk."

He told Mahmood: "I have little if any choice but to remand you in custody.

"I have the public interest and public safety in mind and it seems to me that is the only proper conclusion I can reach."