Former UK soldier Muhammed Choudhary sent £31k of night-vision rifle sights to Taliban, court told

Oct 15, 2024

Muhammed Choudhary bought 12 thermal imaging scopes with the intention of having them smuggled to fighters in Afghanistan, court told

A former British soldier raised money for the Taliban and sent £31,000 worth of night-vision rifle sights for its militants to use in battle, a court has heard.

Muhammed Choudhary, 41, sent packages containing the night vision scopes to Pakistan so they could be smuggled in for fighters in Afghanistan.

Choudhary, of Ilford, east London, bought 12 thermal imaging rifle scopes between 2017 and 2019 from legitimate specialist UK suppliers for a total of £31,489, the court heard.

He was working for the NHS as an X-ray technician when he was arrested in 2020.

The former British soldier admitted two counts of entering into or becoming concerned in an arrangement for the purposes of terrorism, relating to 12 thermal imaging rifle scopes.

He also admitted to providing money knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that it would or might be used for the purposes of terrorism, between 9 May 2017 and 1 May 2019.

Anne Whyte, KC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey: “Choudhary knew that the money and rifle scopes were intended to be used for the purpose of terrorism, namely by the Taliban, in Afghanistan, in its conflict with the Afghan government and coalition forces.

“We also indicated that he exported or tried to export the relevant scopes knowing that he was prohibited from doing so, and that he mis-described the contents of the packages containing the scopes in order to increase the likelihood of export.

“As a former British soldier he was well aware of the capabilities of the scopes, and the purpose to which they were to be deployed.

“Throughout this period, the Taliban targeted international forces and the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces. They also targeted civilians and the civilian infrastructure.”

She also said that Choudhary’s communication with others showed that he had initiated contact with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) when he approached the organisation via WhatsApp on Dec 31 2016.

“It was already clear that he had sent financial aid by that point,” Ms Whyte added.

Choudhary’s texts to the IEA included comments such as: “I am ready to dedicate my whole for this blessing cause.”

He also made reference to his ability to operate weaponry, as a former British soldier.

Scopes that he attempted to send abroad were stopped at customs at Stansted Airport, but he remained committed and had the “intention to remain on this path”.

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Taliban fighters first started using night vision devices in 2016, which were “considered to represent a significant increase in the capabilities of the Taliban who could now operate and conduct attacks at night”.

An email address found in Choudhary’s contacts was posted on websites from 2012 and used in fundraising campaigns for the military operations of the Taliban.

On 17 June 2017, a contact from the IEA, sent Choudhary a link via WhatsApp to a BBC article called “Taliban territory: Life in Afghanistan under the militants”.

The article refers to the Taliban special forces’ use of M4 machine guns, with their night-vision scopes, which enabled them to capture nearly 85 per cent of Helmand province from government forces.

Ms Whyte also said a Jihadi training propaganda video was found on Choudhary’s phone which glorified “Western casualties”. The video was published by Manba al-Jihad media, the media wing of the Haqqani network within the Afghan Taliban.

Choudhary sent his contact a message which said: “You know that in the eyes of these materialist people this work is considered as a terrorist activity, however, we know our cause. I know this.”

Ms White said: “HMRC records show that the defendant is a former British soldier, currently employed by the NHS as an X-ray technician with a gross salary of £21,894.00 for the year 2017-18.”

Following his arrest, Choudhary was interviewed in November 2020 and admitted to “making untrue declarations on goods at exports about the description and value of the rifle scopes”.

He also admitted that the end user of the rifle scopes was the “Islamic extremists in Afghanistan and not the declared individual”, and to knowingly exporting the goods without a valid export licence, and falsifying the end user details on an export licence application to the Department for International Trade.

The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, two decades after being removed from power by a US-led military coalition.

Choudhary is due to be sentenced on Tuesday and faces up to a maximum of 14 years imprisonment.