Neo-Nazi teenager snared by MI5 as he tried to buy gun for attack, court told

South Wales Guardian

4 days ago

Alfie Coleman was detained by armed police in a Morrisons car park moments after he paid £3,500 in exchange for what he thought was a gun and ammunition, the Old Bailey was told.
It was the culmination of a 'highly sophisticated operation' in which an undercover officer from MI5 allegedly agreed to sell Coleman weaponry, jurors were told.
Former Tesco worker Coleman had allegedly engaged in online chat with several undercover officers over months as he tried to buy the gun on various encrypted messaging platforms.
Prosecutor Nicholas De La Poer KC said an arrangement was made with the undercover officer for the supply of a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.
Coleman was allegedly told they would be in a Land Rover Discovery parked in the Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London. He was aged 19 at the time.
On the morning of September 29 2023, the defendant left £3,500 in cash in the front passenger seat footwell and collected the bag of items from the boot.
But before he had gone 30 yards, he was confronted by armed counter-terrorism police and arrested, the court was told.
Inside the bag he was carrying was what appeared to be a handgun and around 200 rounds of ammunition, jurors heard.
Mr De La Poer said members of the public going about their business shopping at Morrisons had witnessed the 'shocking scene' as Coleman was detained by three counter-terrorism officers pointing stun guns.
He said: 'There was much shouting at the young man. More men appeared and took hold of the young man who ended up on the ground.'
While planning a gun attack, the defendant had gathered terrorist information, carried out online research, and wrote a 'manifesto', jurors were told.
Mr De La Poer told jurors: 'The prosecution's case is that Mr Coleman believed in an extreme right-wing ideology which included idolising the likes of Thomas Mair, the man who murdered the MP, Jo Cox.'
He believed in the 'the supremacy of white people and neo-Nazism' and collected a number of documents to help with his attack planning, the prosecutor said.
He went on: 'The prosecution's case is that Mr Coleman engaged in conversation on encrypted social media platforms such as Wire and Telegram with people whom he thought were sympathetic to his views.
'And it was through such people that Mr Coleman sought to buy firearms. A mission which led him to the Morrison's carpark in Stratford on the morning of September 29 2023.'
The court heard how the defendant had emailed the far-right white supremacist organisation Patriotic Alternative in July 2021 saying he 'would like to start participating in activism'.
In June 2022, the defendant allegedly wrote a plan for a potential terrorist attack identifying his initial target as the 'Mayor of London house' and included the postcode of the Lord Mayor of London.
The note also made reference to what appeared to be a plan to put explosive in a cash machine and listed weapons including knives and crossbows, the court was told.
In the event, the plans were abandoned as his thinking developed, jurors heard.
Jurors were told of a file entitled 'you can't see me' containing another attack plan, this time to hijack a plane.
Mr De La Poer said that in the 'cold light of day' this plan appeared to be 'far-fetched and childish'.
He went on: 'The prosecution's case is that however he presented to the outside world when at work, Mr Coleman was seething with hatred on the inside. As a result he created a list.'
In September 2022, the defendant allegedly compiled a list of vehicle number plates on his phone, with one belonging to a colleague at Tesco labelled 'race traitor'.
Jurors heard how he had singled out the white female co-worker who was married to a man of mixed Indian and Seychellois heritage.
At the time, the defendant's reading included an extreme right-wing text which included a scene entitled 'The Day of the Rope' in which 'white race traitors' were hanged on a single day.
In the summer of 2023, the defendant allegedly turned his attention to an attack in France and attempted to arrange the purchase of military grade weaponry there.
In a 'Diary' document, he allegedly explained he had picked France because it was close to 'all out race war' and it was 'where I feel most useful and where I can create the biggest impact'.
In the event, Coleman never travelled to France due to practical difficulties, jurors were told.
Two days before he was due to pick up the Makarov and ammunition in Stratford, Coleman allegedly told an online contact: 'Just something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet.'
The same day, Coleman ordered a Gerber Strong Arm knife with a 4.8 inch blade online, the court was told.
Jurors were told that Coleman accepted he had a significant quantity of extreme right-wing material and had pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents which contain information likely to be useful to terrorists.
The defendant did not dispute writing a text bearing similarities to other 'manifestos' written by convicted extreme right-wing terrorists nor that he engaged in chat on Telegram and Wire with people who proclaimed extreme right-wing views and idolised Hitler, jurors heard.
Coleman has also pleaded guilty to attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but denied he was preparing for a terrorist attack.
Mr De La Poer said the defendant would claim he did not agree with everything he read and was always changing what he thought.
The defendant had dismissed the manifesto and online chat as a 'fantasy' and claimed he wanted a gun and ammunition because he thought that the breakdown of society was coming.
Coleman, now aged 21, of Great Notley in Essex, has denied preparing acts of terrorism and the trial continues.