British jihadi who stored terrorist material on 007-style USB cufflinks while working for the ‘Cyber Caliphate Army’ is refused his freedom at parole hearing
- EXCLUSIVE: Samata Ullah was convicted in 2017 and has been refused parole
- The then 34-year-old created ‘one-stop shop’ for terrorists from home in Cardiff
A British terrorist who stored military information on James Bond-style USB cufflinks and wanted to help ISIS encrypt their communications has been refused parole.
Samata Ullah, then 34, created a ‘one-stop shop’ for terrorists from his bedroom in Cardiff, offering a range of guidance on how to stay one step ahead of police and security services.
The jihadi – a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin – wanted to help ISIS fighters across the world and anti-terrorism police described the scheme as the largest they had seen when he was convicted in 2017.
The trial at the Old Bailey in London was told that Ullah was traced to his bedroom following the arrest of a contact in Kenya who was allegedly planning an anthrax attack.
British counter-terrorism police tracked him down after being passed intelligence by the FBI, who had been handed the information from authorities in Kenya.
Ullah’s home was raided in October 2016 and the former insurance worker was found with 30 metal cufflinks used to store extremist material.
Samata Ullah, then 34, created a ‘one-stop shop’ for terrorists from his bedroom in Cardiff, offering a range of guidance on how to stay one step ahead of police and security services
Judge Gerald Gordon sentenced Ullah to eight years imprisonment, and told him he would have to serve two thirds behind bars, and a five-year extended licence period.
The judge said: ‘He spent effectively all of his time on his own in his bedroom.
‘He had taught himself substantial IT skills, the use of which lie at the heart of the prosecution case.’
In February 2020, emergency legislation introduced after the Fishmongers’ Hall and Streatham terrorist attacks ended automatic early release for terrorists serving standard determinate sentences.
This forced them to spend a minimum two-thirds of their term behind bars before being considered for release by the Parole Board.
Ullah, now 40, became eligible for his first parole hearing last year and in September 2022 was told that his appeal to be released on licence had been rejected.
The Parole Board states: ‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release. It is up to the offender to demonstrate that they are safe for release, and that is hard to do.’
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: ‘We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Samata Ullah following an oral hearing.
‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
Ullah’s home was raided in October 2016 and the former insurance worker was found with 30 metal cufflinks used to store extremist material
‘A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
‘Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.
‘Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.
‘It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.
‘Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.’
The trial heard that Ullah became a key member of a group calling itself the ‘Cyber Caliphate Army’ – a disparate gang of computer experts who specialise in ‘hacking and writing death writs’.
One of the USB cufflinks, which Ullah had bought on a Chinese website, had a PDF version book titled ‘Guided Missile Fundamentals’ and another called ‘Advances in Missile Guidance, Control, and Estimation.’
On a shelf at his home, officers discovered a computer disk with messages from the Cyber Caliphate Army, which helped prove his links to ISIS
The trial at the Old Bailey in London was told that Ullah was traced to his bedroom following the arrest of a contact in Kenya who was allegedly planning an anthrax attack
The first was a manual used by the US to train rocket engineers until the 1970s and the second explained the science behind missile guidance systems.
In messages, Ullah said he hoped his ‘brothers’ in ISIS could use the information to ‘learn the basics of rocket design’ as part of a plan ‘to destroy or jam drones and planes’.
READ MORE: ISIS cyber jihadi who stored Islamist terror plots on James Bond-style USB cufflinks at the house he’d shared with his mother is jailed for eight years
Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said at the time: ‘This defendant represents a new and dangerous breed of terrorist.
‘He is a cyber-terrorist who deployed his, not inconsiderable, self-taught information technology skills, to further the cause of terrorism and in particular the cause of ISIS.
‘All this he did from the relative safety, or so he thought, of his bedroom in Cardiff.’
Divorced Ullah, who previously held down a job in the pensions department of Legal and General, ran the scheme from the house he used to share with his mother before she moved out.
Another cufflink was loaded with an open-source computer operating system known as Linux, which is popular with computer programmers.
He hoped the programme would allow ISIS fighters to communicate anonymously online to avoid detection.
Ullah also worked on a website which was mainly in English and published ‘everything about the Islamic State, fatwa [religious rulings] and articles.’
Ullah was arrested in the street in Cardiff on September 22 last year in order to stop him from deleting material on his computer.
Security services managed to track him down after Kenyan authorities, backed by US law enforcement, arrested a man called Ali Mohammad Abdi.
Abdi’s mobile phone revealed an encrypted Telegram chat group which included Ullah among its members.
On a shelf at his home, officers discovered a computer disk with messages from the Cyber Caliphate Army, which helped prove his links to ISIS.
David Cawthorne, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing: ‘The primary criminality involves the use of the internet and communication with others, including those involved with Daesh (ISIS).’
Evidence had to be translated and evaluated and fitted into the current laws with help from technical experts from SO15 and MI5.
One hundred officers were deployed when Ullah was arrested in Cardiff in September 2016.
Ullah is a British national who was living alone, having divorced from his wife.
On his behaviour when he was picked up, Mr Haydon said: ‘The character in the virtual world is very different from the real world.
‘He started off very meek and mild. In the end it dawned on him what trouble he was in. He had a definite thirst for knowledge and was clearly very committed to the cause.’
Ullah was born in Wales and had community ties in Cardiff, although he was described as a solitary character.
The senior officer said the ‘vast majority’ of Ullah’s material had been taken off the net with help from internet providers around the world. Most of the Twitter accounts had also been deleted, he said.
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