Rochdale Labour councillor's home raided by anti-terror police after his 21-year-old son was arrested on Syrian border with his aunt, cousins and four children
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3024296/Rochdale-Labour-councillor-s-home-raided-anti-terror-police-21-year-old-son-arrested-Syrian-border-aunt-cousins-four-children.html
- Police search home of Labour councillor after son's arrest on Syrian border
- Anti-terror officers raided Shakil Ahmed's house last night and again today
- Son Waheed, 21, was detained alongside 8 relatives - including 4 children
- Mr Ahmed, a councillor since 2012, was recently pictured with Ed Miliband
Anti-terror
police have raided the home of a Labour councillor whose 21-year-old
son was arrested on the Syrian border with his aunt, cousins and four
children.
Shakil
Ahmed's Rochdale home was searched by police last night and again this
morning after his son Waheed and eight relatives - including four
children - were detained in a remote Turkish border town.
Mr
Ahmed, a respected local politician, was not in as police raided the
house in connection with his son's arrest, searching computers for any
links to militants in Syria.
Scroll down for video
Rochdale Labour councillor Shakil Ahmed, pictured with Ed Miliband, whose son has been caught trying to enter rebel-held Syria
Laughing: Waheed Ahmed, the 21-year-old son of a Labour Councillor, is one of nine
Britons who have been held by Turkish security officials are attempting
to slip illegally into Syria in an apparent bid to join ISIS
Anti-terror police raided four addresses, including that of councillor Shakil Ahmed, last night and this morning
A police van was seen outside councillor Shakil Ahmed's home this morning after officers raided the house
Waheed is now being held alongside his
aunt, two cousins and one of his cousin's wives after attempting to
cross the border last night
The
politics undergraduate is the son of local politician Shakil Ahmed, who
was photographed with Labour leader Ed Miliband just weeks ago.
A
Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'We searched four addresses
in Rochdale and Heywood last night in relation to the family detained in
Turkey. Searches will continue this morning.
'Officers were looking for electronic devices to see if any occupants had been in touch with anyone in Syria.'
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Coun Ahmed, 45, last night spoke of his shock after being told that his son is suspected of being a militant Islamist.
He
told the Daily Mail: ‘All I know is that they were on holiday and then
the next thing I am told is that they have been arrested.’
The
nine Britons, who include three men, two women and four children aged
between one and 11, were seized in Hatay province, in southern Turkey.
It shares a border with part of Syria controlled by rebel factions including those linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS.
'Shocked': Shakil Ahmed said he was
'shocked, worried and extremely upset' that his son was among the group
and urged him to come home 'as soon as possible so I can find out what's
going on'
In a statement, he said that he believed his son, a student at Manchester University, had been on work placement in Birmingham
All those held are from Rochdale and are the biggest family group caught attempting to enter the unstable territory.
A senior officer questioned why anyone would take anyone so young ‘and vulnerable’ into a warzone . The extended family group were detained at a checkpoint in Ogulpinar on Tuesday.
The
three men and two women, aged between 21 and 47, were taken to a
hospital with their children, aged one, three, eight and 11.
Officials said they will be photographed and fingerprinted before being deported back to the UK.
Photographs
showed Waheed Ahmed, dressed in traditional robes and wearing heavy
boots, leading the group from a minibus into a police station.
Held: The nine
Britons - four of them children – were seized by Turkish security forces
last night as they tried to slip across the border to an Islamic State
stronghold in Syria
Detained: Footage released earlier
shows the family arriving at a police station in Turkey's southern Hatay
province, where they are understood to have been kept overnight
Several women, all wearing headscarfs
which covered their faces, could be seen carrying children. Most of the
party were wearing walking boots, perfect for trekking across the
rugged region.
Last night, family members were holding a crisis meeting at the family’s £150,000 semi-detached home in Rochdale.
Shakil
Ahmed, a bakery delivery driver, is a councillor in Kingsway and served
alongside Karen Danczuk, wife of Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk , until her resignation in January.
Speaking
as he delivered election campaign leaflets yesterday, he said he
recognised his son in online newspaper reports of his arrest.
The detained Britons, which include
Waheed's aunt and cousins, leave a hospital in Hatay after undergoing a
medical check up and fingerprinting
The three men, two women and four children were detained by soldiers at a checkpoint in Ogulpinar
Smirking: The nine British citizens,
including 4 children, were detained in Turkey's southern Hatay and
Gaziantep provinces yesterday as authorities foiled their alleged
attempts to enter Syria illegally
Councillor Ahmed said the others arrested included Waheed’s aunt, Zadia
Bi, 50, and two of her sons and one of their wives. He said: ‘I don’t
know why they have been arrested. We have no information. Until they
ring we will not know what has happened.’
He
said that he had seen his son’s photograph and when asked about one
picture of his son laughing, he replied: ‘Well, they went on holiday so
they shouldn’t be crying on holiday should they?’
He
added: ‘I don’t believe my son was on his way to join Islamic State. I
was shocked, worried and extremely upset to hear that my son has been
arrested.
‘It’s a total mystery to me why he’s there, as I was under the impression he was on a work placement in Birmingham.
‘My
son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain. If I thought
for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have
reported him to the authorities.’ The councillor added: ‘He’s studying a
degree in politics and sociology at Manchester University and has a
good future ahead of him. I just want to speak to my son and get him
home as soon as possible.’
Waheed apparently called his devastated father at 2am to break the news he had been arrested.
According to Sky News, Turkish MP
Mehmet Ali Ediboglu said last night: 'They are being held at a
paramilitary outpost. Probably, they will be deported to their country
tomorrow''
Turkey is a key staging ground for foreign fighters attempting to reach ISIS-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq
A British woman holding a child is seen arriving at a hospital in Turkey to undergo a medical check up
Neighbours described the former pupil at Rochdale Sixth Form College, who is now an undergraduate, as ‘very religious’.
One
resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: 'I've known Waheed since
I was at school. We went to different schools but we always knew each
other because he's only a year older than me.
'We'd often go to play football at the local fields - he was always a pretty confident person.
'This doesn't really surprise me if I'm honest - he was always a bit cocky.
'I've never really spoken to the family but they seem really nice - we'd always say hello in passing.
'But there was something about Waheed - I never felt like I could trust him.'
Usman
Nawaz went to the same school as Waheed Ahmed in Rochdale. Speaking on
the Today programme this morning, he said the 'constant drip-feeding of
British Muslims from this country' into Isis needed to be addressed.
He said: 'For some it's an adventure but for some they think that they are doing something noble.
'The
ideology which is peddled, this very hardcore understanding of the
faith, one which is state-sponsored by Saudi Arabia, that has to be
challenged and it's quite difficult to challenge it in a coherent manner
when the Saudi ideology has the backing of petrodollars.
'There
are mosques in this country which are funded with petrodollars.
However, mosques in Rochdale, from what I understand, don't have a
problem of radicalisation and extremism.'
Rochdale
councillor Dalaat Ali, who is a family friend of Waheed Ahmed, told 5
Live Daily: 'I've known him since he was little. He was born here, he's
just as British as anyone else. We've never got an indication as to
whether this was happening."
He described the fact that children seem to have been involved as 'unbelievable', adding 'who would endanger their children?'
He
added: 'Just a couple of days ago, they were arrested in Turkey at
around 2am and Councillor Ahmed got a phone call from his son saying he
was arrested in Turkey. He was supposed to be in Birmingham on work
experience. He asked, "what are you doing in Turkey?"
'It
was early in the morning, he rang me, he came around and we've got a
number for a councillor in Ankara but they were closed so we informed
the local police as to what has happened. The family is gutted, mum,
brother. It's unbelievable. Don't know what to say.'
Once they had their medical checks, the family were fingerprinted and taken back to a police station
The Foreign Office said it has been communicating with Turkish officials over the detention of the nine people
Waheed
is particularly close to his brother, Moin, 22, who is still at home
and was not among the group in Turkey, and the pair wore similar
traditional Islamic clothing. Neighbours said he has not been seen ‘for
some time’.
Former
Conservative councillor, Mohammed Sharif, who lives two doors down from
the family, said: ‘I know the family quite well. They are really quite
normal so this is very shocking. The boys are both quite religious and
have beards but their father is just normal and their mother is also
very nice.’
Mr
Sharif said that Waheed prayed five times a day at the Gungol Sharif
mosque, in Derby Street, Rochdale. He said: ‘He always seemed quite
polite. I can’t believe this has happened.’
Mr
Sharif added: ‘This is a very shocking development in our community. It
seems that the internet has a big part to play in what is happening to
these children.
‘We need to warn parents about the dangers of this radicalisation.’ Waheed was last spotted in the area three weeks ago.
His grey Toyota Auris remained outside his house.
Another
neighbour, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: ‘He was very religious
and always walked around in traditional dress. He didn’t really mix
with anyone and was very quiet.’
His
older brother Moin follows many Islamic extremist preachers on his
Facebook page, including Dr Bilal Philips, who has condoned suicide
bombers in the past and is banned from the UK for holding extremist
views.
Police
now face the task of investigating exactly what the fugitives’ motives
were and whether they have committed terrorist offences.
Turkey is a key staging ground for foreign fighters and others hoping to reach Islamic State-held areas of Syria and Iraq.
Earlier this week Yahya Rashid, 19, was charged with preparing acts of terrorism after flying into Luton Airport from Istanbul.
He is suspected of acting as an Islamic State smuggler, paying for four men and a woman to join the terrorist group.
Assistant
Chief Constable Ian Wiggett, of Greater Manchester Police, said:
‘Officers have commenced an investigation to establish their reason for
travel and apparent attempted entry into Syria. At this time officers
have uncovered no evidence whatsoever of any imminent threat to the
communities of Rochdale or indeed the UK.
‘What
is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to
take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone, such a volatile
and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever,’ he added.
It is understood that social workers in Rochdale are already preparing to interview parents on their return.
Imam Irfan Chishti, of the Rochdale Council of Mosques, said: ‘We are shocked to hear this has happened in our town.
‘Rochdale has had its fair share of negative publicity of late, given the grooming issue, and this is the last thing we need.'
Fleeing to Syria: Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamina Begum at Gatwick in February
Mohammed
Shafiq, of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: ‘The news that nine people
from Rochdale including children have been arrested in Turkey trying to
get into Syria is deeply worrying.
‘The idea you can take young children into a warzone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this.’
The
Ahmed family are originally from Kashmir but settled in Rochdale in the
1980s and have lived in their current home since 2006.
Coun Ahmed posted a picture of himself with Labour leader Ed Miliband on his Facebook page just before Christmas.
A
Labour spokesman said this morning: 'This is a family matter. The good
news is that the authorities stopped them crossing into Syria.
'The
priority now is that the police and authorities investigate fully.
We're clear that anyone involved with terrorist groups should feel full
force of law.'
Rochdale
MP Simon Danczuk tweeted last night: ‘I’ve been in touch with the
father of one of young men who was there he’s shocked confused as to why his son was trying to enter Syria.
‘At
this stage I don’t want to say too much until I receive more
information from the police on whether a criminal offence has been
committed.
‘Rochdale stands united against any terrorist activity and we are constantly vigilant about any signs of radicalisation.’
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