Overview
- The Old Bailey sentenced Muhammad Billal to 13½ years in custody with a five‑year extended licence on Thursday, July 2, 2026, after he pleaded guilty to terrorism offences.
- Billal was stopped by counter‑terror police at Manchester Airport on November 20, 2024, while attempting to travel via Dubai as part of a plan to reach Somalia to join ISIS.
- Prosecutors relied on extensive digital evidence, including four copies of the ISIS magazine Rumiyah on his phone, messaging histories, and records of attempts to buy a gun on darknet marketplaces; police say he never took possession of a firearm.
- Court material shows he carried out months of online reconnaissance of crowded UK sites — from train stations and shopping centres to Old Trafford and the AO Arena — before shifting focus to foreign travel after contact with an online handler.
- Investigators and the defence described his vulnerability through social isolation, migration background and reported autism, and authorities warned the case shows how encrypted apps and illicit online markets can drive radicalisation and require continued policing and online-safety work.