Leicester: Man made hoax bomb threats to hospital from prison

Mohammed Mahboobshah was jailed for a further three years and nine months

An inmate who made hoax bomb threats to a hospital in Leicester from prison has been sentenced.

Mohammed Mahboobshah was on remand for encouraging terrorism when he made calls to Glenfield Hospital urging people to evacuate on 4 October 2021.

The call was linked to the prison he was in and following a search of phone records, he was arrested.

Mahboobshah was jailed for three years and nine months at Warwick Crown Court on Friday.

The 28-year-old, formerly of Evington Valley Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to making online posts encouraging terrorism on 30 September 2021.

He was remanded into custody and four days later, Mahboobshah made the hoax calls.

Glenfield Hospital in Leicester received two hoax bomb threats in October 2021

Following examination of phone records, it was confirmed he had made two calls - at 09:41 BST and again at 10:12. The content of the call was also able to be confirmed, Leicestershire Police said.

Mahboobshah was produced from prison and arrested in February 2022. Following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTPEM), he was charged with making a hoax bomb threat.

He was found guilty of the offence following a trial at Leicester Crown Court in July.

Mahboobshah was previously jailed in 2021 for two years and eight months for encouraging terrorism.

He was jailed for a further three years and nine months on Friday. The sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to the one issued two years ago.

Det Sgt Frank Fraser, from CTPEM, said: "The phone calls will understandably have caused distress and disruption for staff at the hospital while they were trying to provide the best possible care for patients and could ultimately have put lives at risk.

"But thanks to the instant, calm actions of hospital staff and prison staff as well as the investigating team and officers from Leicestershire Police who dealt with the initial report, we were able to quickly identify Mahboobshah as the person responsible and to quickly bring an end to the incident, including avoiding evacuation of the premises."

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