A Hammersmith barber has been found guilty of sending thousands of pounds to fund terrorist activity in Syria.
Tarek Namouz, 43, was found to have exchanged messages with an Islamic State supporter in Syria in which they talked about purchasing weapons and explosives to use against Syrian government forces.
Police said Namouz – who ran and lived above a barber shop in Hammersmith – sent over £11,000 to his contact in the terrorist organisation.
He was found guilty of eight counts of funding terrorism at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, as well as two counts of possessing information likely to be useful for terrorism.
The money was sent via a transfer bureau in west London, with transactions totalling £11,280.
Whilst on remand, he was recorded telling a visitor who had come to see him in prison that he had sent more than double that amount – around £25,000.
On the day of his arrest on May 25 last year, Namouz told officers he did not have a phone. But during the search, officers found one hidden in a recess under a drawer.
It was on this phone that officers found Islamic State propaganda material consisting of thousands of videos, messages, and documents which he had downloaded from Telegram.
This includes videos with instructions on how to create an improvised explosive device and how to carry out knife attacks.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Terrorist groups rely on funding to carry out their activities and to continue to operate.
“People like Namouz who provide money to terrorist groups - both in the UK and overseas - are enabling others to go and commit serious and deadly attacks, and we will always pursue and investigate those people and seek to bring them to justice.”
Namouz will be sentenced on January 5 next year.
