A group of men were directed to drive vans loaded with petrol to Fairford RAF base by a handler known as Ali, who police believe was working on behalf of Iran, a court heard on Tuesday.
One of the five men tasked with driving to the base called police in the early hours of 27 September after the handler warned the group about a bomb in the vans, prosecutors told Westminster magistrates court.
Two men, Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, both appeared in court on Tuesday charged under the National Security Act 2023.
Abdulkarim, of London, was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service. He is accused of buying the vans used in the Fairford incident on the instruction of Ali.
Essghir, also of London, was charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, after initially being arrested at the scene near the Gloucestershire base on 27 September and then re-arrested on 20 October. He is accused of visiting RAF Fairford and filming around the facility on a video call with Ali before returning a month later in the convoy of vans.
Abdulkarim has been released on bail under conditions including the surrender of his passport, and Essghir has been remanded in custody. They will appear at the Old Bailey on 20 November.
Prosecutor Louise Gray alleged the defendants were in contact with an individual known as Ali who is now believed to be abroad.
She said that during the events of 27 September at the RAF Fairford base, five men who were arrested travelled in vans, parked and got out “and were told to do so by someone known as Mr Ali”.
One of them, she said, had claimed they were told there was a bomb in the van and called 999.
The court heard that the person calling stated that they were from London and that he was one of a group of five males. The caller told the police that they had been tasked to drive vans to the location for the purpose of a new business venture. When the vans arrived at the location, the organiser was in communication with them over the telephone.
Gray alleged he then told them to park the vans and to walk away from them. After they did that, the organiser told them to run as he had planted a bomb in the van. The caller indicated that he and his colleagues had run away from the vans and were now calling the police for help.
The defendants are believed to have known Ali for “a number of years”, she said.
Essghir is accused of travelling to RAF Fairford on 22 August and contacting Ali.
Abdulkarim is accused of buying mobile phones and collecting cash for Ali, as well as buying five vans including the three that were driven to RAF Fairford.
The court heard he had known Ali for 10 years and it was claimed the latter had been linked to a drone incident at the Israeli embassy.
Counter Terror Policing said they believed the foreign intelligence service involved in the case was Iranian.
The assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of national counter-terrorism policing in the UK, said: “We have seen a range of incidents in recent months that we believe have been directed by the Iranian state, and as the director general of MI5 said just the other week, we are working together to intervene, identify and respond to that threat.
“The public can help us with this, and as always I would urge them to report anything that they’re worried about – those reports can and do make a difference.”
A 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national who was also arrested on 20 October on suspicion of aiding Iran’s intelligence service has been released without charge but remains on police bail after being arrested on 1 October on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts.
Five other men arrested during the investigation remain on police bail.
Frank Ferguson, the chief crown prosecutor for the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute two individuals with National Security Act offences following a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford. We will continue to work closely with our partners as this complex investigation continues.”
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