Terror suspects arrested after guns found in car

SEVEN men have been detained on suspicion of terrorist activity after police found weapons in a car stopped on the M1 near Rotherham.

Officers from West Yorkshire Police made the arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday after investigations into items they found hidden in the car, which was pulled over on Saturday.

A police spokesman said that the arrests in West Yorkshire followed the “routine stop” of a vehicle by police on the M1 motorway in South Yorkshire.

He said that the car was initially impounded on suspicion of having no insurance, but added: “Firearms, offensive weapons and other material were later found hidden inside, prompting police to take action to trace and arrest the driver, passenger and others suspected of being involved.”

Six men in their twenties from the Sparkhill, Moseley, Alum Rock and Smethwick areas of the West Midlands and one 43-year-old man from Kirklees, West Yorkshire, were subsequently detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The items from the vehicle are currently undergoing forensic analysis and searches are or have been carried out at the addresses of those in custody.

The West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit is leading the investigation.

Head of the unit, Det Chief Supt Kenny Bell, said: “As soon as the items were discovered in the impounded vehicle, our priority was to protect the public by pursuing and arresting those we believed to be involved.

“Our enquiries are ongoing.”