Watford man guilty of trying to buy explosives on dark web

Mohammed Humza was not present at his trial and is believed to have left the country

A man has been found guilty of trying to buy grenades and Semtex explosive from an undercover FBI agent on the dark web.

Mohammed Humza, 29, of Watford, failed to turn up for his trial at the Old Bailey on Monday and was suspected of travelling to Kashmir in Pakistan.

The trial went ahead in his absence and the jury reached a guilty verdict by a majority of 11 to one.

Mrs Justice McGowan said Humza's current whereabouts was a "mystery".

She said: "He may have left the country. On the other hand, he may be saying he has left the country in order to deter police from trying to find him."

The judge said the sentencing for the offence of attempting to possess explosive substances for unlawful purposes, which Humza had previously denied, would be depend on whether it was linked with terrorism.

The court heard Humza, going by the username mh.nn243, had approached an FBI agent posing as a seller on dark web trading site AlphaBay in summer 2016.

In a message to the agent in July 2016, mh.nn243 asked: "What's the best price you can do for 2 grenades with postage to the UK?"

Cryptocurrency

The user then offered to pay $115 (£89) per piece for four grenades and discussed payment methods, the court heard.

In the exchange the pair also talked about the price of delivery to "Watford" and "Hertfordshire", but the deal was not completed.

In early August Humza got in touch with the agent again and the pair agreed a deal for two grenades, the court heard.

On 6 August, mh.nn243 then transferred cryptocurrency funds to be paid once the deal was completed.

Jurors were told Humza arranged for the goods to be sent to his address in Fuller Road but under his neighbour's name.

Later, after being told by the agent that he was out of stock of grenades, and having his cryptocurrency refunded, the user attempted to buy Semtex and a fuse detonator.

The court heard that Humza had previous convictions for fraud and theft, but no terror-related offences.