A man was found with Neo Nazi documents, discussed how to make homemade guns and talked to extreme right wing groups on Telegram and Snapchat.
Nicholas Street, 20, first came to the attention of counter terrorism police during an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands into the activities of another man who was attempting to source a firearm.
Police later uncovered correspondence between the pair in which they shared information on how to manufacture a homemade gun.
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Street was subsequently arrested by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU) in December 2019 in connection with the investigation and detained under section 58 TACT 2000 offences.
Officers seized a mobile phone, laptop and other media devices belonging to Street. He was questioned by WMCTU and later released under investigation.
The investigation was then passed to Counter Terrorism Policing North West who conducted a full review of Street’s seized media devices. These devices were found to contain documents contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
A review of Streets chat applications, including Telegram, WhatsApp and Snapchat, revealed Street had also had conversations with extreme right wing groups concerning guns and a number of Neo Nazi propaganda and videos were located on his electronic devices.
On December 12 2020, Street was arrested by CTPNW in relation to the offences and was later charged with three counts of possession of material likely to be of use in terrorism contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act and one charge of encouraging terrorism contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing terrorist documents and was also tried and found guilty at an earlier hearing of offences contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006. He was jailed for 30 months at Liverpool Crown Court.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Meeks of Counter Terrorism Policing North West said: “Thanks to the diligent investigative work by WMCTU and CTPNW Nicholas Street has been jailed. Individuals idolising and encouraging the actions of terrorists and extremists pose a great risk to our society and I hope the result today shows that CTPNW are committed to rooting out and prosecuting those individuals.
“Intelligence pictures are built on the information that you share and we need your help to keep people safe. Reports taken very seriously and are treated with the strictest confidence.
"We encourage anyone with concerns about people expressing extremist views to call the UK Anti-Terrorism Hotline in confidence on 0800 789 321 or alternatively, you can use the secure online form at www.Gov.uk/ACT”
Every year, thousands of reports from the public help police tackle the terrorist threat. If you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts and act. In an emergency, always dial 999.
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