HE THOUGHT he was buying a gun from fellow right-wing extremists. In fact, he was buying a gun from two undercover detectives – who were part of a joint investigation by London Counter Terrorism Police (CTP) and MI5.
The two forces had been working together to track what Alfie Douglas Coleman, 21, was up to. He had embraced extreme-right wing ideology as a young teenager and was in touch, online, with extreme-right wing terrorism groups and forums. Leap forward to 2023, and Coleman was handing over £3,500 for a gun and ammunition in a car park in Stratford.
Police arrested Coleman immediately after he made his purchase from their undercover colleagues. After an investigation, he was charged with planning a terrorist attack. And earlier today, 30th April, he appeared at the Old Bailey and was found guilty.
The police investigation considered a number of extremist and terror-related documents found on Coleman’s devices, together with a manifesto and a diary he had written himself. There was also material on how to use weapons and explosives. This led to Coleman also being charged with ten counts of collecting information likely to be useful for terrorism. He later pleaded guilty to those charges and others relating to possession of a firearm.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of the London CTP, described Coleman as “extremely dangerous”. She said that Coleman, “became radicalised and drawn into extreme right-wing terrorism from the age of only 14, which, over the course of five years, ultimately led him to developing a plan and intention to kill members of the public.” Coleman will return to the Old Bailey on 8th July for sentencing.
●Read more about it: More crime stories