Blythe Road Barber Found Guilty of Funding Terrorism
Tarek Namouz sent cash to Islamic State in Syria
Tarek Namouz. Picture: Met Police
December 9, 2022
A man who ran a barber shop on Blythe Road has been found guilty of funding terrorist activity in Syria.
43-year-old Tarek Namouz, who use to live above the premises of Boss Crew Barbers, sent over £11,000 to Islamic State in Syria.
He was arrested in May 2021 after a pre-planned operation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
They searched his flat and, although he claimed not to own a mobile phone, one was found in a recess under a drawer along with over £3,000 in cash.
When this phone was analysed, WhatsApp messages between him and a Daesh supporter in Syria were discovered in which they talked about purchasing weapons and explosives to use against the Syrian government forces as well as slaughtering non-believers.
Officers also found Daesh propaganda material consisting of thousands of videos, messages, and documents which he had downloaded from Telegram. This included two videos, one giving instructions on how to create and improvised explosive device, and another on detailing how to carry out knife attacks.
He used a money transfer bureau in Shepherd’s Bush to send the cash with records of £11,280 being found. However, when on remand he was recorded telling a visitor that he had transferred more than double that amount.
Namouz had received funds from Hammersmith & Fulham Council as part of the support given to businesses during the Covid-19 lockdown and he claimed this is where the cash found in his apartment came from.
Denying the charges, Namouz admitted to sending money to Syria but said it was for charitable purposes and because he wanted to buy a plot of land to retire in the country where he was born.
On Wednesday, 8 December at Kingston Crown Court, Namouz was found guilty of eight counts of funding terrorism and two counts of possessing information likely to be useful for terrorism.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said, “Terrorist groups rely on funding to carry out their activities and to continue to operate.
“People like Namouz who provide money to terrorist groups - both in the UK and overseas - are enabling others to go and commit serious and deadly attacks, and we will always pursue and investigate those people and seek to bring them to justice.”
He will be sentenced on Thursday, 5 January 2023.
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