Man accused of plotting terror attack claimed he wanted to ‘sabotage’ plan, jury told

Walid Saadaoui, 38, was arrested in the car park of The Last Drop Hotel and Spa in Bromley Cross on May 8 last year appearing to receive a car full of assault rifles and ammunition.

He is now on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of planning to kill a horrific number of Jewish people alongside his co-defendant Amar Hussein, 36.

Walid’s brother Bilal Saadaoui, 36, is accused of failing to disclose information about terrorist activity.

At the end of a marathon four-day trial opening, prosecutor Hardeep Sandhu KC told the jury that after being arrested Walid “lied” about his part in the plot.

Mr Sandhu said: “Putting it simply, he says that he did all he did because of threats he received from others.

“He said he was acting under duress.

The trial opened at Preston Crown Court(Image: Newsquest)

He added: “His intention, he says, was to sabotage their plans by going along with them and then reporting them to the police.”

During the trial opening, Mr Sandhu told the jury of seven men and seven women that Walid and Hussein had planned to launch attacks on the Jewish community around North Manchester.

But he said their plan unravelled thanks to an “undercover operative” known simply as “Farouk” who Walid had met on Queens Park in Bolton on February 15 last year.

Mr Sandhu said that they had rented a safehouse in Bolton as part of their plan and hoped to bring in assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and bullets in through Dover.

But Walid was arrested just as the guns arrived in Bromley Cross on May 8 last year, while Hussein was arrested that same day at his place of work on Lever Street, Great Lever.

Bilel was arrested while at the gym.

Mr Sandhu told the court how when interviewed by police, Walid claimed that he had never intended to harm innocent people.

He said he had no idea the items being brought into the country were guns.

But Mr Sandhu told the jury that during the plot Walid “did not once” contact the police.

When Hussein was interviewed by police, Mr Sandhu said he was spoken to in his cell because he had refused to leave.

Mr Sandhu said: “He knew, of course, that he had been arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offences.

“He said that the UK government was made of terrorists.

“He said that the Prime Minister was a terrorist.

He said Hussein described the undercover operative Farouk as “worse than disbeliever in hellfire because he is a Muslim and he treat his brother, Muslim brother to hunt for disbeliever.”

But, Mr Sandhu said, when asked what he was doing in Dover Hussein simply said he was there to “see nature”.

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He said that Hussein denied being involved in terrorism but said during his interview “God loves these things”.

Mr Sandhu said that when Bilel Saadaoui was interviewed he denied any knowledge of terrorist activity and had a “normal” relationship with his brother.

Walid Saadaoui, of Crankwood Road, Abram, and Amar Hussein, of no fixed address, deny preparing acts of terrorism.

Bilel Saadaoui, of Fairclough Street, Hindley, denies failure to disclose information about an act of terrorism.

The trial before Mr Justice Mark Wall continues.

Source – INDIA TV