Security guard with DIY terrorism guides jailed

Pawel Golaszewski from Leeds was this week convicted of possessing six terrorism manuals likely to be of use to someone planning an attack. The materials were stored on his laptop and other electronic devices which were found in his car during a police stop and search in February this year.

Further searches at his home uncovered other items including a survival knife mounted on the living room wall, surveillance equipment, two smoke grenades, a drone in a rucksack, a telescopic lens, a camouflage tarpaulin and rolled sleeping mat plus a torch with a concealed knife.

The 34-year-old’s defence was that the documents were part of his research as he wanted to join the armed forces. He also claimed they formed part of his work as a security guard and for a private investigation business he set up in 2013. The CPS presented evidence from a security industry expert and an experienced private investigator to show the documents had no bearing on those jobs.

Jenny Hopkins, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in the CPS, said, “There was no reasonable excuse for him to have bomb-making and guerrilla warfare manuals.

“The jury rejected his implausible claim that he needed them for his job as a security guard or as a private investigator.”

One document gave step-by-step advice on how to kill someone using household items; another contained recipes and instructions to make a wide range of viable explosives. A document called “Murder Inc” provided instructions to make improved explosives such a “Lightbulb Bomb” and a “Tennis Ball Bomb”. A manual called “Urban Guerrilla” was different from the others as it gave practical advice on the tactics and strategy for a successful revolution and overthrow of a government.

On Wednesday 18 September the jury at the Old Bailey found him guilty of six counts of possessing terrorist material.