WECTU Arrest: Aabid Ali Charged With Terrorism Offences

Aabid Ali, 48, from Wrexham has today (Thursday 17th November) been charged with two counts under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 – Possession of a document likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism and one charge under Section One of the Terrorism Act 2006 – Encouragement of terrorism. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Ali, who is originally from Manchester and was formerly known as Darren Glennon, will appear before Westminster Magistrates Court tomorrow morning (Friday 18th November). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Ali was arrested as he returned from work on Thursday 10th November as part of a pre-planned and intelligence-led operation between Wales Extremism Counter Terrorism Unit (WECTU), North Wales Police and West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU).; there was no threat to the public’s safety. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki of North Wales Police said: “North Wales Police has strong links with the Muslim community and members of that community have worked with us to provide support to this investigation. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Extremism and radicalisation is something that we continue to be constantly vigilant about. We also work hard to ensure that efforts to victimize or commit hate crime against Muslim communities across North Wales are met with a no tolerance approach. It is crucially important that this work continues. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Nobody is better placed to detect something that is out of place in their communities than the people living in them. To effectively combat the terrorism threat the police, businesses, government and the general public need to work together.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​