Operation Gamble
This article is part of the Counter-Terrorism Portal project of Spinwatch. |
Operation Gamble was the codename given to a counter-terrorism operation undertaken on 1 February 2007 in which nine Muslim men were arrested in dawn raids in Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston – all areas of Birmingham. The operation was headed by the regional anti-terrorism command - the West-Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit and MI5. The suspected individuals were placed under 24 hour surveillance for 6 months, in an operation that cost £10 million and involved up to 250 officers.[1]
The plot allegedly involved abducting a British Muslim soldier, beheading him and posting the video of the beheading online. According to a senior security source: if the group had "not found a suitable Muslim soldier to kill, it is quite possible they would have plucked an innocent member of the public off the streets and beheaded him."[1]
It eventually emerged that the plot to kidnap a soldier was a grave exaggeration by the press and security oficials. Five men appeared in court, facing 12 terrorism charges, however only one of the men - Parviz Khan - was accused on "intention to kidnap and kill a member of the British armed forces". The other four men were convicted with "supplying and funding terrorists" abroad or "withholding information". [2] Four men were released without any charges being brought against them.
The operation was overshadowed by allegations that the plot was moved forward to move attention away from the intense criticism surrounding the 'cash for honours' inquiry that had engulfed Downing Street and the reports that Britain's prisons were over-populated due to John Reid, the then Home Secretary. The lead agency in the investigation, the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit believed that such misinformation and leaks were made specifically to "deflect attention from the prisons crisis and the cash for honours inquiry." [3] The misinformation that was disseminated was alleged to have come from Whitehall and Home Office officials.[4]
Police Operation
Operation Gamble was a six-month intense police and MI5 surveillance operation and was the first that was commanded and undertaken by the newly formed West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit - who were under the command of the Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw.[5]
The surveillance operation was meant to continue for 2 extra months, but police police were warned that the "group were becoming becoming increasingly agitated" because they were "arguing about when to strike" the police decided to act. Therfore, at 4am, more than 700 police (armed and unarmed) officers simultaneously raided eight homes and four businesses. The raids included eight residential properties, a corner shop, two Islamic bookshops and an internet cafe. A ninth man was arrested on the A38 motorway (near Birmingham) at 3pm. An undisclosed officer from West Midlands Police said: "this terror raid has come at a very convenient time for the Government as it has taken a number of embarrassing stories off the news agenda. But it must be stressed that the timing of the operation was an independent police decision."[1]
The total cost of the operation was £10 million pounds.[1]Over 4,5000 items of evidence were seized.[6]
See Also
- Operation Crevice
- 2008 Counter-Terrorism advertising campaign
- Counter-Terrorism Timeline
- CONTEST
- PREVENT
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stephen Wright and Ben Taylor, 'Al Qaeda was behind plot to behead soldier; British gang planned to kidnap British Muslim serviceman', The Daily Mail, 1 February 2007, accessed via LexisNexis on 08.09.10
- ↑ Rod Chaytor, 12 Terror Charges..only one mentions kidnap and kill plot, The Mirror, 10 February 2007, accessed on 08.09.10
- ↑ Ian Cobain, Steven Morris, Michael White and Sandra Laville, ‘Police fear lurid terror briefings being used to divert attention from Whitehall problems, The Guardian, 3 February 2007, accessed on 08.09.10
- ↑ 'Setting the Record Straight: The Dangers of 'Off-the Record' Briefings to the Media During Police Counter-Terror Operations', Liberty, May 2007, accessed 08.09.10
- ↑ Jason Bennetto, 'Suspects 'had list of targets', The Independent, 2 February 2007, accessed via LexisNexis on 08.09.10
- ↑ Duncan Gardham and Richard Holt, Sixth man due in court charged with terror offences, The Telegraph, 10 February 2007, accessed 09.09.10
