A man has been jailed for over three years after admitting possessing explosive substances, after a significant number of items were found in two properties in Edinburgh last year.
Faris Al-Khori, aged 62 pleaded guilty to an offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883, Section 4 in February 2015, following the recovery of material from two flats in Fidra Court and Persevere Court in April 2014. He was today, Thursday 2 April 2015, sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh to three years and four months imprisonment.
The items were discovered following a fire within the rubbish chute at the Fidra Court flats on Friday 18 April 2014. When the Fire Service gained entry to Al-Khori’s home address adjacent to the chute, police and army Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) experts were called and the building was evacuated whilst the items were recovered. A subsequent search of another flat in Persevere Court uncovered further suspect items and this building was also evacuated whilst they were recovered by the EOD team.
Detective Superintendent David Gordon, who led the investigation, said: “This was a significant and complex inquiry for Police Scotland, to safely deal with these volatile items and seek to establish Al-Khori’s motives for storing them.
“A thorough investigation by the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit and Crown Office found no known links to terrorist offences and we believe Faris Al-Khori was acting independently. However, he showed utter disregard for the occupants of both buildings.
“Thanks to the swift actions of our partners in the Fire Service and armed forces, we were able to quickly assess the contents of the flats and make them safe by removing a number of items for forensic examination or controlled explosion. I am also grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council for their work to re-house vulnerable residents whilst we carried out our searches. Public safety was at the forefront of our response to this incident and all agencies worked together to minimise any risk to the public.
“Al-Khori’s activities went unnoticed for many years, demonstrating the importance of community vigilance in our efforts to keep Scotland safe. I would urge anyone noticing anything unusual in their neighbourhood to contact police straight away, by dialling 101 or the anti terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321. In an emergency always call 999. Counter terrorism is one of Police Scotland’s highest priorities, and whilst Al-Khori has no such known links we will always treat all information received with the utmost importance where any risk to the public is identified.”
Lindsey Miller, the Crown Office’s Procurator Fiscal for Organised Crime and Counter-Terrorism, added: “The conviction of Al-Khori is a good example of agencies working closely together to protect the public.
“Al-Khori possessed a significant number and volume of explosive substances across two properties in Edinburgh as well as recipes for explosives. We worked closely with Police Service of Scotland and other agencies to prepare the case to ensure that Al-Khori was brought to justice.
“I want to reassure the people of Scotland that we take any such offences extremely seriously, and our specialist prosecutors will continue to treat them as an absolute priority.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
