TikTok terror: Birmingham man jailed over bomb-making videos

A 20-year-old with thousands of online followers actively sought out extremist material, storing a detailed explosive guide as police uncovered weapons and violent propaganda.

A Birmingham man has been jailed for four years after being convicted of possessing a bomb-making video judged likely to be useful for terrorism, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Adam Mahmood, 20, of Platt Brook Way in Sheldon, was sentenced on Thursday after a jury rejected his denial that he knowingly held extremist instructional material. The court heard the video provided a detailed guide to producing an explosive device comparable to those used in previous UK terror attacks.

Prosecutors said Mahmood had actively sought out the 14-minute video, asking another user on TikTok to send it to him via Telegram. At the time, he had more than 27,000 followers on TikTok. The footage was received in October 2023 and last accessed on 24 March 2024.

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Mahmood, a former motor mechanics student, told the court he had watched the video only briefly, fast-forwarding through sections and claiming he “didn’t really think anything of it”. That account was rejected by the jury.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Drew KC said the prosecution had proved Mahmood deliberately saved the recording to his phone and understood its nature. The visuals and subtitles, he said, made clear it was a bomb-making guide rather than an innocuous clip.

The judge imposed a four-year custodial sentence in a young offender institution, together with an extended licence period of three years on release, saying this was necessary to protect the public.

The trial heard that when officers searched Mahmood’s bedroom, they found what the judge described as an “alarming display” of weapons, including swords, knives, an axe and a catapult. Mahmood claimed these items related to an interest in Islamic history. Police also recovered ball bearings, which the judge said suggested Mahmood was at least contemplating assembling an explosive device.

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