A Coventry student planned to equip “Islamic State” terrorists with a drone that could launch a bomb or chemical weapon, a jury in the terror trial has learned. Prosecutors have accused Mohamad Al-Bared of designing and building the unmanned aerial vehicle, which was found in a bedroom at his home when he was arrested in January this year.
The 26-year-old, from Kare Road, Wyken, was on trial before a jury at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday August 23. The mechanical engineering graduate denies involvement in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts in favor of a banned terrorist organization.
Opening the Crown’s case, prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC told the court: “His home was searched and police found a drone. They also found material suggesting that this defendant supports the Islamic State, a terrorist organization.”
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The court heard that Al-Bared, who was living with his parents, was arrested while driving at the same time as the raid and was in possession of a mobile phone, which police also confiscated. A 3D printer that could be used to make parts for the drone was also found at the home of Al-Bared, who was a PhD from Birmingham University, the court learned.
Ms Heeley claimed evidence from devices allegedly belonging to Al-Bared showed he was a supporter of Islamic State and that “this drone was built” to help the organization. Prosecutors said it was a guy who had landing gear and a small digital camera after the drone was shown to jurors in a large clear plastic bag.
“It had all the components needed for flight,” Ms. Heeley added. “We suspect it was manufactured to launch a bomb… to fly into enemy IS territory and launch a chemical weapon or other device.”
On the opening day of the trial, Ms Heeley also claimed that Al-Bared had completed an Islamic State application form and set up a UK-registered company to help plan future trips abroad. Ms Heeley continued: “He says he’s not responsible for completing the application form, but we’re saying how else did it get there?”
Police raided the home of Coventry student Mohamad Al-Bared after he was arrested by anti-terrorism police in January(Image: CoventryLive)
Written material was presented to the jury stating that the idea for the drone was “somewhat inspired by the design of the Tomahawk missile”. According to the Crown, Al-Bared described his construction process. Adding to the evidence found on an electronic device, which also included references to fuses, mechanical detonators and a warhead, Ms Heeley said: “He’s literally telling someone what he’s doing.”
“What drone for legitimate use needs a warhead? What needs a warhead is a drone designed for a missile.”
“That’s the real reason this drone is being built. That one sentence tells you what this case is about and why we say the defendant is guilty.”
“The only reasonable conclusion you can draw is that you can be sure that he was preparing for terrorist attacks.” Al-Bared, whose doctoral thesis was on laser-based microdrilling, denies a single charge for the period between Jan January 2022 and January 31 of this year.
The trial will continue next Tuesday.
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