By STEPHEN WRIGHT and CHRIS GREENWOOD A former police community support officer was arrested yesterday over an alleged plot to carry out a major terrorist attack, possibly during the Olympics. Jahangir Alom, 26, who spent two years working for the Metropolitan Police, was among six people detained over an alleged plan to cause an atrocity in the UK. The former 'Blunkett bobby' and his two younger brothers were arrested at 4am at their family home half a mile from the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. The scene in Abbey Road, Stratford, East London, just half a mile from the Olympic site Arrested: British Muslim convert Richard Dart spent two years working for the Met Police Terror raid: A home raided by Metropolitan Police officers in Stratford, east London, one mile from the Olympic Park just three weeks before the Games A white Muslim convert, Richard Dart, 29, who once worked as a BBC security guard, was among three other suspects taken into custody elsewhere. In April last year Dart, using the name Salahuddin Al Britani, appeared in an internet video uploaded by a Muslim group, which vowed to disrupt the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. A woman aged 30 and man of 21 were arrested at separate homes in West London yesterday, on suspicion of being part of the terrorist plot. Last night the suspects' alleged targets were unclear, as was how it is alleged they planned to strike. But security sources described the arrests 'as very significant' and counter-terrorism chiefs are convinced they have thwarted a major attack. Police forensics work inside the premises searching for clues A policeman looks through the garden of the house in Newham, East London, while others stand guard to the front of the property A neighbour caught the moment anti-terror police raided the house near the Olympic park Officers can be seen in SAS-style outfits during the raid which happened at 4am Smashed: A broken door which is thought to have been battered down by police as they arrested three people in Stratford Yesterday's developments followed months of surveillance and a recent, worrying increase in intelligence 'chatter', prompting fears of an attack to coincide with the Olympics and Paralympics. It is not thought that the suspects were intending to target Games' venues or spectators. But detectives fear Islamic radicals will try to maximise publicity with an attack – anywhere in Britain – during the next two months. Terror alert: Two police officers on duty outside the property in Stratford Jahangir Alom and his brothers Moybur Alom, 18, and Alomgir Alom, 24, were arrested at the semi-detached council home they share with their mother in Abbey Road, Stratford, East London. One of the men was Tasered as dozens of armed officers threw 'flash bang' grenades and stormed into their family home. Neighbours screamed as police dressed in black paramilitary-style clothing smashed down doors and smoke poured from the windows. One said: 'I asked one police officer what was going on and he said it was an Olympic exercise.' Terror threat: During the Games the Olympic Park will be protected by the biggest peacetime security operation ever seen in Britain. The arrests were not linked to the games All three brothers are British nationals from a large Bangladeshi family and attended the local Rokerby High School. Their father, Sheikh Alkas Ali, a chef, is understood to have returned to Bangladesh, where he and his wife were both born. The arrested men's brother-in-law Salim Ahmed said they had once been acquaintances of radical preacher Anjem Choudary. Jahangir also appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, My Brother The Islamist, in which he drove several men to a meeting at a mosque in Leeds. Threat: Staff prepare for the Games at the Olympic Park as three terror suspects were arrested just a mile away Jahangir spent two years working as a Metropolitan Police community support officer in East London, before leaving the force in May 2009. In a nine-minute interview posted on YouTube, Jahangir – using the name Abu Khalid – said he once harboured ambitions to become a chief inspector but later quit the police. His arrest was part of a London-wide terrorist operation that saw Dart detained in the street and a man and woman held at their home in Ealing, West London. Dart is a Muslim convert who criticised Britain on TV while claiming benefits to live rent-free. He also appeared in the documentary My Brother The Islamist, alongside Jahangir Alom. A total of eight homes across London were being searched last night as officers looked for evidence of a plot. Scotland Yard said five men and one woman were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000. 'Public safety remains our overriding concern. Today's operation in London is not linked to the Olympic and Paralympic games,' a spokesman added. The suspects can be detained for 14 days before officers must charge or release them.Former 'Blunkett bobby' is among six held as police swoop on house half a mile from Olympic Park to stop 'major terrorist attack'
Friday, 6 July 2012
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