'Three Musketeers' West Midlands terror gang jailed for LIFE over Lee Rigby-style plot
Terrorists in a Midland cell calling itself the Three Musketeers were jailed for life today for plotting a Lee Rigby-style plot with large knives and a bomb.
Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain, Mohibur Rahman will all serve at least 20 years in prison, while a fourth man, Tahir Aziz, must serve at least 15.
The gang sought out infamous Islamic State supporter Anjem Choudary before they prepared to strike police and military targets on British soil.
They were arrested in August last year after MI5 went to bug the car of Naweed Ali, only to uncover a pipe bomb and meat cleaver hidden in a JD Sports bag.
Convicted terrorists Ali, 29, Hussain, 25, and Rahman, 33, who served time together behind bars, denied preparing an attack.
They claimed the incriminating evidence was planted by undercover police officer Vincent, the boss of a fake firm called Hero Couriers, which was said to have had its 'headquarters' at Hilton Hall near Wolverhampton.
Vincent was cross-examined over 12 days and repeatedly rejected the allegations against him. He also described them in a private message as "the usual b*******".
Jurors at the Old Bailey agreed with him and, after deliberating for more than 22 hours, unanimously convicted the men of preparing terrorist acts.
Late recruit Tahir Aziz, 38, who was found with a large sword stashed in his car, was also found guilty.
After they were convicted on Wednesday, Rahman shouted out: "I hope you're happy with your lies. Lying scumbags."
Ali, Hussain, and Rahman refused to leave Belmarsh Prison to attend the sentencing hearing.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told the court that the defendants, who were influenced by the lorry attack in Nice in the south of France, were probably planning to use their cars as weapons as well as the knives and pipe bomb, which was partially complete.
Ali, Rahman and Hussain were told to served a minimum term of 20 years for their "significant role" in the planned attack. Aziz was given a minimum term of 15 years for his lesser part.
Mr Justice Globe noted that the four-and-a-half-month trial came amid four separate attacks in Britain.
He said: "These attacks demonstrate in stark form the carnage that can be created by different types of terrorist attack that can be carried out with a vehicle, explosives and loaded weapons.
"I am satisfied from the evidence and the jury verdicts, but for the intervention of the counter terrorism unit of West Midlands Police and the security services, there would have been not dissimilar terrorist acts in this country using at the very least the explosives and or one or more bladed weapons."
The judge referred to the defence lawyers' attempts to get the jury dismissed and their "root and branch" attacks on the credibility of all the prosecution witnesses from West Midlands Police, particularly Vincent.
He said these attacks were "totally unfounded".
The trial heard that the trio of convicted terrorists called themselves the Three Musketeers in an encrypted chat on the Telegram messaging app.
Ali and law student turned trainee gas fitter Hussain, both from Evelyn Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, were jailed for joining a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, while Rahman was in prison for possessing an al Qaida propaganda magazine which contained bomb-making instructions.
Rahman, of High Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, had connections with other extremists, including Choudary, who he is believed to have visited with IS fanatic Aziz last May while the radical preacher was on bail awaiting trial for supporting IS.
Primark salesman and IS fanatic Aziz, also of Stoke, was keen not to be "left behind" but was only brought into the Three Musketeers plot shortly before the arrests.
The gang had tried to evade secret services and police and even attempted to double-deal with an MI5 contact of Rahman's to extract information.
But the authorities were one step ahead of them with an elaborate undercover operation at Hero Couriers, where Hussain and Ali were offered driving shifts.
On August 26, Ali arrived for his first day and left his Seat Leon at the Birmingham depot before MI5 moved in to conduct a search and "technical" operation.
They found the JD Sports bag in the footwell, containing a partially constructed pipe bomb and meat cleaver with the word "kafir" - meaning non-believer - scratched on it in readiness for the imminent attack.
An imitation gun, cartridges, a 9mm bullet, latex gloves and industrial tape were also recovered.
The defendants were arrested by West Midlands Counter Terrorism officers the same day.
Jurors were told that Hussain had previously handled the same type of pipes used for the bomb on his gas fitter's course and his DNA was on the roll of tape.
The court heard that Aziz had previous convictions dating back to 1997, and had been jailed for five years for dealing in heroin and cocaine.
He only became radicalised after the breakdown of his marriage.
Aziz was the only defendant to attend his sentencing and was said to be "devastated" at being found guilty of the terror offence.
Rahman was also sentenced for two further offences after pleading guilty earlier this year to breaching his licence conditions.
It followed his failure to notify police of a change of address under requirements of a sexual offences order and an order under the Counter Terrorism Act 2008. The court heard he had been convicted of a sexual offence in 2002.
