Dramatic moment armed cops raid gym to arrest ‘terrorist’ as he pumped iron – before he was dragged away in handcuffs
THIS is the dramatic moment armed cops raided a gym to arrest a “terrorist” as he pumped iron.
Armed cops raided The Warehouse Gym in Bolton on Wednesday evening to nab the terror suspect.
The Hindley arrest was caught on dramatic video which showed masked officers pinning the man onto the floor next to weight machines.
Police cuff the man and then lead him out of the gym and put him into a nearby van as shocked gym goers watched on.
Officers with rifles and dogs can be seen outside the building at the end of the clip.
The Warehouse Gym boss Jonny Hart told the Manchester Evening News that police essentially “stormed the gym”.
He said: “We had a really busy gym, with around 250 members in there, so obviously there was a lot of confusion.”
Police, he said, put the gym into a containment area and prevented anybody from arriving or leaving as they carried out the operation.
He said: “Then they [police] swept through the gym. They were quite methodical in how they did it. They got hold of him very quickly and detained him in plasticuffs, and then escorted him out to the waiting vans.”
Hart said staff and gym-goers helped point out to police what areas the man had used and whether he had brought a bag with him.
He added that a police officer told him the man had been under surveillance for the day and after realising he was not at his home address they followed him to the gym.
Greater Manchester Police said they executed four warrants at 7.30pm in the Bolton, Great Lever, Abram and Hindley areas.
A spokesperson said on Thursday: “The men, aged 35, 36 and 51, were arrested at separate locations and have been taken into custody for questioning.”
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, who holds responsibility for counter terrorism policing in the north west, said: “This evening we have executed a number of planned warrants as part of an ongoing counter terrorism investigation.
“Three men have been taken into custody for questioning and scenes remain in place as we conduct further enquiries. Today’s activity has been the culmination of much detailed planning and we have put measures in place to minimise disruption to local residents as much as possible.
“I understand that any time arrests of this nature are made it will cause concerns and people will naturally have questions. Although we can’t go into specific details of the investigation at this stage, I want to reassure members of the public that we do not currently believe there to be any wider threat linked to today’s activity.
“Further detail will be released where appropriate as the investigation progresses.”
Teen Muslim convert who looked up Isle of Wight Festival as potential target for terror attack detained for seven years
By Mike Sullivan
A TEENAGE Muslim convert who looked up the Isle of Wight Festival as a potential target for a terror attack has been detained for seven years.
The 16-year-old, who was 15 at the time, also researched weapons, vehicles and stab vests, and obtained a knife.
After dismissing the festival as a target because he did not have a car, the youth drew up plans to stab people who worked with him at a specialist education provider, a court heard.
His ideology was influenced by IS, police said.
Kingston Crown Court in South West London heard he discussed his plans with others online as he received messages such as: “I heard you were going to attack the festival, is this true?”
The teen, who cannot be named because of his age, was convicted of charges including preparing acts of terrorism.